Unforgivable Decisions
by VampGirl330
Summary: What if Lucy had a helpless drunk mother, an abusive twin brother and a father who leaves for five years only to come back as a vampire who turns her mother and brother into vampires as a threat towards the Drakes to give in to Montmartre, his maker?
1. A Hasty Escape

**The idea for this story came after I read My Love lies Bleeding. All characters belong to Alyxandra Harvey. I own nothing. I just change the plot but everything belongs to her. It's the same story with a twist and Lucy with a different background. Tell me what you think pls, if I get one review I will continue writing :D**

Chapter 1

**+Lucy+**

Ten minutes, ten more minutes until I would get put of the hell hole they call classroom. I could hear Mr. Tanner going on and on about the American Civil war and the slave trade but I could not get myself to concentrate. In my opinion I had much more important things to worry about then the civil war which I already knew by heart. And one of them was my best friend Solange Drake.

I just can't imagine living without her in my life; she's been there every step of the way alongside me. I always remember knowing her. She was one of those people who were just plain good. She always got my back, even when things weren't pretty for me, or when I got in a fight or two with the other kids in the playground. But know the wheel has turned and she's the one who needs the help. I've pretty much known Solange was a vampire-to-be and her family drank blood instead of coffee since I was ten. Marcus, one of her seven brothers had just become a vampire and stupid young me fell and scraped my knee. He tried to drain me but of course he was stopped by his father and mother, Liam and Helena. I didn't really get upset or anything, I was used to drama back at home. But I knew that the Drakes were special not frightening. The fact that I never babbled about it to anyone made them trust me.

Anyways it's not like I have anyone to babble to. Which kinda made me miss Solange. At school I was always alone and no one dared to talk to me. Not even my own twin brother. I guess the fact that we were crammed in my mother's tummy for a whole nine months didn't affect us or formed any special bond between us. We were two opposites. Though the good old genes rang a bell to everybody that we were related as we both had brown straight hair and milk chocolate eyes, he was always popular with everybody while I just made people uncomfortable. It's not that I'm some sociopath but I have to get some time to adapt. That's why I felt so at home with the Drakes, they never fit in quite perfectly with the crowd.

Solange was on the verge of sixteen, only two and a half weeks away. Sixteen was not a good omen for the Drakes. When the Drakes turned sixteen, their body would start changing genetically into a vampire. But the problem with Solange was that she was the first female Drake vampire ever born. And of course this had quite a lot of consequences when we were dealing with vampire politics. A prophesy foretold that a Drake woman would lead the vampire night world, which made many psychotic vampires want to turn Solange into their own personal super vampire mother factory or something of the sorts. And Sol was so not ready to have a baby, let alone a whole army of little vampires-to-be babies. But of course, Lady Natasha, the ruler of the vampires would not make this any easier. She outright exiled the Drakes from court and her ultimate dream seemed to be sucking Solange dry before she made it past sixteen. Well, maybe not her only dream. You could say that Lady Natasha got a little too attached to people who obviously just wanted to use her and throw her away. She claimed to be in love with Montmartre, a bloodthirsty vampire who seemed to want to make Solange his queen and use her as a figure head while he ruled the vampire world. This gave Lady Natasha even more reason to hate Solange. But personally I didn't understand Lady Natasha's obsession with Montmartre. He was already in knees deep trouble himself, having two different kinds of vamps against him, vamps that he himself created out of carelessness. Those were the Hounds and the Hel-bar.

Finally after what seemed like a billion years, the bell rang. I ran out of the classroom as soon as I could, put some books in my locker and ran to the parking lot before I could encounter my beloved brother, Stella and her annoying crew of dummies trailing behind her. Unfortunately I had no such luck. They spotted me only ten steps away from my brand new used car.

"Come on, Lucky! Fetch and I'll give you a treat." I heard her annoying nasal voice shout out at me, which was followed by a serious of fake laughter. Damn my mother for naming me Lucky. I had stressed the point since first grade that I should be called Lucy not Lucky. I wouldn't even name my dog Lucky as it sounds too cheesy let alone a girl. I got the name when I was almost strangled at birth and miraculously survived.

"Fetch what? Your combined I.Q? I'm sorry but they're too minuscule to be seen. You should get me a telescope." I retorted as I fumbled in my pockets trying to find my car keys.

"Looking for these?" Stella asked me as she snickered smugly at me. "Who's dumb now?"

"I'm in no mood for games, let me go." I said as she jingled the keys in front of me while I uselessly tried to get them.

"Shut up, dog!" she told me, which was supposed to be her clever retort. I was already in one of my black moods and she was only just another obstacle keeping me away from Solange. So I did what I always did when I get frustrated.

I punched her in the nose.

I heard a satisfactory crack and my keys fall from her hands. She made a big fuss over nothing. My brother had broken my nose once or twice and I don't even recall crying. I took the chance and grabbed the keys since they were my only escape. I was out of the school parking lot in record time and in half an hour I was at my house.

I entered with my usual bored and pissed expression and found my mum baking a pie. And for the woman who had trouble with making French toast without the toaster exploding or her finger bleeding, backing a pie was way to farfetched.

"Mum, for heaven's sake stick to frozen food." I said as I examined the mess. About half a bag of flour on the floor and in her hair, a puddle of water on the kitchen counter and a soggy piece of dough in my mother's hands. Great! More for me to clean up.

"Oh come on Hun! Two growing teenagers need more vitamins than what frozen food can offer." She said while wrestling with the doughy goo we were supposed to eat.

"Well, this teenager would appreciate fewer dishes to be washed, and by the way, which recipe in the world would require four sauce pans?"

"Oh, well; lets just say I burnt the filling once or twice." she told me. I sighed. Life was such a bitch to me.

"Mum, it's already five. Phil's going to pick you up in two hours and there's no way that you'll be ready if you don't jump in the tub right now." I said to get her out of the kitchen. I would never make it to Solange's house before twilight if she kept on 'cooking'.

"Oh, thanks Lucy. I almost forgot. You know, sometimes I wonder who is the adult in this house." she said as she left the kitchen leaving a trail of white footprints behind her.

I sight once more and rolled up my sleeves.

XxxX

I was almost finished. I just needed to mop the kitchen floor and I'd be good to go. Phil had already picked up Mum. Saying that I despised Phil was an understatement. Freaky psychiatrist trying to get me to like him. I was a very good reader of people and I knew that he loathed me and my brother. Well today I made it clear that if he left me at peace and stopped trying to impress my mother by being 'nice' to me, I would put in a good world for him. He accepted the deal gladly. As much as I didn't like him, I had to agree that that was the best deal my mother was ever going to get. He was rich enough to keep her happy and comfortable and I felt that he truly cared for her, not just her body. Believe me; I lost count of how many losers I had to punch in the nose to stop them from molesting my mother. She was irresponsible and totally non-motherly but she was he only parent I had. My dad had disappeared when I was eleven. One fine day he was there and the next my mother found his side of the bed empty. We hadn't heard from him since then. It's just like he disappeared in thin air, he could have died for all we knew. Well anyway, his sudden disappearance left my mother wrecked and my brother's head empty. Josh was just like one of those brainless jocks you see on TV that have the deserved reputation of having screwed every girl in school.

Just then the door opened and my brother came in looking more furious than ever.

"Why did you do that?" he asked me as if I was some unreasonable child.

"She provoked me." I said to him, "And anyway, it's not like I have to give you an explanation."

"You think you're so tough, huh. I had to drive her to the hospital, you dump bitch." he shouted at my face.

"Stop it! That hurts." I said as I tried to kick free out of his grasp. He was grabbing my wrists so tightly I thought I was about to faint with lack of blood circulation.

"You should have thought of that before she made me drive twenty-five miles to reach the hospital." he said as he punched me in the jaw. I couldn't escape his punch and I slid on my back due to the wet floor. My head hit the granite kitchen counter and I felt myself lose consciousness before my back hit the floor.

XxxxX

I had a pounding headache and an aching jaw. I got up and felt my hair and back wet with water on the floor. I lost no time and cleaned the floor to prevent any more slips.

I went in my room to examine the damages. The skin around my jaw and temple changed texture and was now ripples of blue, violet and yellow. At least I didn't have a concussion and the bruises weren't anything special that some concealer wouldn't hide. I noticed that Josh had left which left the house all to myself. I took a quick shower and washed my hair as fast as I could and put on some fresh clothes. I tried to apply some make up to cover the bruises but it was already hurting like hell. I managed to hide the bruises as well as I could without enhancing my headache. I got my car keys from my dirty jeans' back pocket and got in my beat up Corolla and headed to the countryside were the Drake's proud homestead was. I could feel my pressing nerves and pissed feelings traveling slowly to the back of my head. I sometimes considered myself like a coin, still the same girl but with very different attitudes. And the Drakes brought out my better side; well that is except for Nicholas, Sol's youngest brother. But it was a cute kind of anger. I arrived in front of the house and found Solange with two mugs of hot chocolate. And not the cheap 90 % fake chocolate, 10% fake milk, but the pure Belgian chocolate that makes angels sing. As usual she was wearing a stained pair of cargo pants and t-shirt, but she still made it look good. She had elbow length silky raven black hair and piercing silvery eyes which looked too unearthly to be described.

"Hey, Lucy! How was school?" she asked me as she handled me my mug. We had a set of matching best friends' mugs, mine was purple with light blue polka dots and had a heart shaped handle and hers was exactly the same colours with switched positions.

"Boring as usual." I said casually.

"How many fights did you get into?" she questioned me. Man she knew me so well.

"Not even my mother questions me like that." I told her as I squeeze her shoulders in a half hug. We went inside, straight to her room.

"Yeah, well I'm used to your 'bored' response. It says plain trouble." she said as we set on one of her twin beds and I did the same.

"Thanks for the heads up, I'll try to invent another world for boring by tomorrow. More importantly, how are you feeling? No unpleasant surprises?" I questioned her suddenly turning serious.

"Hey, it's not like I'm going to die, well the technically yes, but I'll still be around if I survive the change. Bruno found some Helios-Ra agents but they were too quick and we didn't manage to capture them. It's obvious that they're keeping us under tight surveillance." She told me.

"And they're not the only ones. Apart from Lady Natasha's Arkansas if you try to go out tonight you'll find us keeping close surveillance on you two. So don't try to pull off any stupid stunts, Lucky." I heard Nicholas' voice say before I saw his head, his head with moonlight silver eyes and rippling waves of black hair.

"Nicky, don't you have anything better to do than eavesdrop on out conversations? What if we were talking about something private and girly like bras and makeup? You know what happens to eavesdroppers, don't you?" I teased him. He hated it when I called him Nicky, which I always did as he refereed to me as 'She' or 'her' or 'Lucky.'

He shook his head and left us alone. But I knew that he was eavesdropping on us so Sol and I did what we always did when we wanted a conversation to be completely private. We texted each other.

Sol, wanna grab a cappuccino? L  
>Why do you always do what N specifically tells you not to do? S<br>Because I like it:P L  
>It's a really bad idea S<br>Come on! You've been locked up for too long! L  
>... All right... S<br>Change into something more decent and if someone catches us, we were going to get my homework from my car. L

Solange changed quickly and we tiptoed down the stairs. Luckily, Nosy Nicky wasn't following us so we got out without a problem. We got in my crappy car and drove away.

XxxxX

We ordered two cappuccinos and croissants and sat in a booth.

"Doesn't it feel good? Having some fun!" I said and carefully blew at my cappuccino to cool it down.

"Yeah...but we'd better go back as soon as we can. I bet Nicholas is already searching for us." she pointed out and bit a good chunk of the croissant.

"Won't you miss eating?" I asked her and took a bite of the puffy pastry. Then, I felt a sudden shiver run through my back. I felt many pairs of eyes on us and they weren't only Sol's admirers.

"Yeah, it will be a pity." she sighed gloomily. Sol loved food, she loved to taste and distinguish ingredients. My instincts were buzzing like crazy in my head. I heard a little voice in my head say "Run!"

"Umm... Sol... I think we should get going." I said. At first she was going to refuse, but when she saw my widened eyes and guarded expression she nodded solemnly. We took our still boiling cappuccinos in our hands and went outside. We hurried towards my car and got in. I felt a sudden feeling of relief as I heard the slamming of my car doors. I turned on the ignition. The car roared to life only to fail on me after a few seconds. I cursed at my damned rotten luck. Solange was looking at me with big solemn eyes. I was usual the action person, but with my junk of a car there was not much I could do. I tried to restart it only to have it fail on me again. The hot night air surrounding us seemed dense and quiet. Too quiet.

"Let's call Nicholas." Solange breathed. I shook my head; no way was I going to give Nicky the satisfaction of saying 'I told you so.' But I had to do something. We could not run away neither could we stay in the car. I made my mind and decided the best way was out. Sol and I could outrun them and just maybe reach my house which was less than a mile away.

"We're going to make a run for it." I said. "On three."

"One."

"Two." We both took a deep breath. This was going to be a hell of a run and we were screwed if they had cars.

"Three." we sprinted out of the car and disappeared through the darkness. We could both hear their footsteps echoing ours. Damn Helios-Ra. If we survive this, Nicky was going to give me shit for it. And seriously what was I thinking? We ran and ran under the lamp lit streets and I weighed in my head if it would be wise to head for the woods.

Suddenly a black MG came out of nowhere and did a 180 degrees spin in front of us. The car door opened and a furious voice yelled "Get in, Solange." Since the car was a two seater there was no place for me so I took it for granted to keep running for my life. Sol got in and the voice which belonged to Nicky -oh joy- shouted at her to close the door. I was too busy running to notice that Sol wouldn't leave without me. I heard her yell out my name. I reluctantly ran back, even though my leg muscles were screaming at me to stop.

"Come on, get on my lap!" she shouted quickly as the sounds behind us increased. I didn't need telling twice. I got on her and even though it was a tight squeeze. She closed the door and Nick drove away.


	2. Just One Kiss

**Thanks for all the support! I love you ppl! So here is chap 2, I warn you from before, the names may vary slightly since the book was a loan and it's not available, but the main characters will remain the same. Oh, and for Twilight fans I would really appreciate if you read Outcast, my other story. Anyways, Enjoy:**

**Chapter 2: Helpless  
><strong>  
>+ Lucy +<p>

"Do I need to ask what you were thinking to only find out that you weren't thinking at all?" Nick said. Though the question should have been asked to both of us, he was clearly talking to me.

"Oh, come on. You keep her locked up all day! What did you expect? Poor girl needs her fun considering that in a few days she'll be going through hell."

"Yes, she needs her fun but safety is our top priority. After this one you should not be allowed to visit her till she's turned."

"Hello! Are you mental? She needs her best friend!" I retorted. So much speaking was making my sore jaw ache. I hoped the concealer was still intact.

"Hello! She's still in the car!" I heard an irritated Solange say to both of us. Most of our discussions would get so intense we would forget about our surroundings until one of us wins the argument. We would put most lawyers to shame.

"Not if her best friend gets her killed." he retorted, ignoring Solange's interference.

"Okay! You guys need to stop! Lucy you have to admit that this wasn't your best idea." Solange said, and I gave her a hurt look while Nicky smirked. "And you Nick, you need to loosen up a little bit. Sure, I'm going to turn into a vampire and I can probably get killed in the process but I'm almost sixteen. I can't live all my life in fear. Cause that's just existing not living." She quoted me at the end. I smirked back at him and gave in to the urge to stick my tongue out at him like a little girl.

"Whatever. This doesn't excuse the fact that she's acting too irresponsible. There's your life at stake."

"Put a sock in it, Nicky. We already know." I told him giving him the evils.

"Then if you know why-" he started saying but Solange cut him off.

"Enough. Both of you. Nothing bad happened so there's no need to get your panties in a twist. Let's just go home. Lucy, do you want to sleep at my house tonight?" she asked me.

"I'd love to. Thanks!" I told her a little bit overdoing the joy. They both looked me with wary expressions. Lately Josh had been coming home in very bad moods after getting wasted with his friends. And well, his moods would result in me getting beat up or having to clean up after his temper tantrums. I could not endure another session of beatings tonight. Especially since the last time he had come back in one of his blackest moods he had broken one of my ribs. That had hurt like a fucking bitch and I had to endure Nicky's irritating comments about my clumsiness since the excuse had been falling down during P.E. If only he knew...

"Anyway, you had better find a plausible excuse for mom. You know she's going to throw one if her hissy fits over of this when she gets back from visiting Uncle Bert." Nicky said.

"We'll just have to tell her the truth. I'm sure she won't get that angry once she'll see that no one got hurt." Solange said rationally.

"Whatever." Nick said, continuing to stare at the road ahead. After about five minutes the silence had grown dense. Nick was the one to break it.

"I'm waiting." he said looking directly at me. Solange rolled her eyes but I still didn't understand.

"For what?" I asked sheepishly.

"For your appreciation after I saved your life, my not-so-fair maiden." Solange burst into a small laugh but was silenced immediately by my icy glare. As much as I hate to admit it, he had a point that I should thank him but he was so dead wrong about the last part. And he was dead for bringing my virginity into this, which I shall add that is still intact. Who the fuck does that when he's expecting a girl to show her gratitude?

"Fine, thanks. And how exactly did you know about my virtue's state? Are you by any chance stalking me by checking who I take to bed with me?" I asked him, covering my chest and my lower woman parts in fake shock. Solange outright laughed out loud and Nick's eyes turned into perfect white round saucers. Well, it was his fault for starting this in the first place. Fortunately for him we arrived at the Drakes and he managed to skip finding a retort for my question. We piled out of the small sports car and went inside.

"Would you like to shower first?" Solange asked me as she handed me my spare pyjamas and underwear that I always left at her house.

"Sure." I told her and made my way to her bathroom. I stripped quickly to avoid spending any time loitering around and got in the shower. As the cool water hit me, relieving me of the cruel summer heat I heard myself sigh. It felt as if all my worries were slowly disappearing leaving me soothed and calm. When I was ready I dried myself with a fluffy white towel and put on my sports bra that I slept with and panties and my comfy pyjama. I went to Solange's room and she quickly darted in the bathroom.

My mouth felt really dry and cottony. I went to the kitchen to get a glass of water and suddenly I felt something wet and warm on my leg producing short pants. I looked down and saw Tibbles, one of the dogs belonging to the Drakes. Tibbles was a trained dog who could probably bite my hand off in a second, but like Sol, I had grown up here, most of the time, so Tibbles counted me as a member of the family.

"You want to go outside, don't you boy?" I said as he went over to the locked dog flaps. "Alright let's go outside." I told him. He barked in agreement with me and I couldn't help smile at him. I opened the door, letting in the coolness of a summer night. I went outside and inhaled the grassy scent that surrounded the Drake's farm house. I let out a relieved sigh as the cool air tickled my skin. Tibbles racked havoc on the porch running after little rabbits and lifting up his leg at every corner he could find to do his business.

"Didn't you have enough adventures outside for one night?" I heard a familiar male voice say.

"Shut up conscience." I told the voice. Behind me someone chuckled. "It's me." the male voice said.

"Shut up me." I retorted.

"Seriously, what are you doing outside?" the voice said as a familiar guy with silvery eyes and black messy hair stepped into my view.

"Stop bugging for one night, Nicholas. It gets tired." I told him as he came into my view.

"Ah, Lucy. I wonder why you're so stubborn." he said as he passed in front of me. I could not help but stare at him as he walked passed me. This was one of the rare moments where he was not teasing me or making me feel like I had hamburger meat instead of brains in my head. And well, just the sight of him was a treat. He was wearing loose striped pyjama pants and a white shirt.

"Are you done checking me out?" he said, smirking as if I had just confessed to him my unrequited love towards him.

"I was not." I denied. I felt slight blush about to expose my lie but I managed to calm it just in time before my face got any redder. I covered up the truth by snorting.

"You look so cute when you do that. It makes it so clear that you're lying." ugh, stupid vampire sight.

"Huh, as if I would fall for a guy who was about to leave me running for my dear life!" I told him. His expression abruptly turned grim.

"I'm sorry." he said quickly. He slowly caressed the side of my face. His soft caress made me remember earlier this evening, when my brother had made contact with my face, but it had been a hell of a punch, rather than a soft caress that made my toes tingle. The thought suddenly made me feel very self-conscious. I turned my head so that he would not see the bruise. I had forgotten to reapply the concealer and I severely doubted it was still there. I did not want him to find out about what Josh did to me. The very first time Josh had seriously beaten me up I was thirteen. I had been young so I didn't have the good sense to apply anything to the bruises. When I went to the Drakes, they all started fussing over my black eye and asking who did it. When I told them that it had been my brother they wanted to take action but I kept saying that it was accidental. That still hadn't stopped Nick from going after my brother to teach him a lesson. Of course, my brother had already started hanging out with gangsters so he knew how to throw a good punch. On the other hand Nick had vampire genes so of course it might have been a pretty bloody fight if Logan and I hadn't interjected. After that my brother got in a fight which led him to one of those institutions for juvenile delinquents. I had told the Drakes that there he had corrected his ways when in reality he had become a living, breathing nightmare. He beat me regularly and though I did try to defend myself and once even broke his nose, I still could not match his strength.

"I said I'm sorry. But Solange had been my priority. Now stop giving me the silent treatment because it's really annoying and immature."

"Huh?" I asked him, snapping out of la-la land.

"I will not repeat that." he said solemnly, never removing his hand from my check. Of course he would not repeat that. That would hurt his big bad manly pride. I wanted to bring his Mexico-sized ego down a notch.

"Would you seriously think I'd fall for you? Out of all the people in the world? You?" I asked him. He flinched at my words. I had hurt him. I felt guilty for saying that to him.

"I'm sorry." I said after a while. "That's okay." he responded quietly. He made me look straight at him. "You're so cute when you feel guilty!" he told me. He brushed a lock of my hair behind my ear. He was only a few inches away from me. In fact if he leaned in his lips would have touched mine. I closed my eyes involuntary and felt his vampire charm affect me. I felt his lips gently press against mine. He started kissing me and I felt heat sear trough my body. Why did he have to be so handsome? And well, not that I was complaining but why was he kissing me? I was aware that his brothers especially Logan teased him about having a crush on me but I thought it was just them teasing him. Could it be...? No what was I thinking? As if Nick would like me. Him with his dreamy eyes and... Shut up brain!

I kissed him back and his grip on the sides of my face became tighter with passion.

"Ow!" I muttered against his lips. He abruptly broke the kiss.

"Did I hurt you?" he said, covering his mouth. Had he thought he was hurting me with his fangs?

"No!" I said quickly trying to hide the bruise with my hands.

"Then why-" he started but I saw a flick of understanding in his eyes. "Let me see." he said as he tried to remove my hand from my face.

"No!" I replied stubbornly.

"Lucy!"

"NO!" I yelled at him.

"I won't let you inside if you don't let me see what I did to you!" he said, his voice full of anguish.

"No, it wasn't you."

"Lucy," he started. He pulled my hand down and I let him this time. I knew that there was no reasoning with him now. He cursed loudly. "Who did this?" he asked, anger boiling inside of him.

"I... Um.. Josh got angry when I punched his girlfriend." I said, biting my lower lip.

"I can't believe he scooped so low and hit a girl. Why didn't you tell anyone?" he said as he examined the bruise and caressed my face lightly.

"What was I supposed to say?" I asked feeling the helplessness that had filled my life all these years.

"I don't know! Maybe that your brother was beating you up." He said.

"Look, forget about it. It's just a little bruise. I want to go inside. It's getting cold out here." I said and whistled at Tibbles to get inside. Nick suddenly grabbed hold of my wrist.

"Stop, Lucy." He said but I fought my way out of his grasp and ran inside.

XXX

**Pls review for more frequent updates! You know you want to…**


	3. Interesting News

**Chapter 3**

**+Lucy+**

I rushed in the house, cursing at myself for being so stupid. How had I allowed him to see it? I intended to dart off to Sol's room and lock myself there, but of course he caught up to me in the middle of the stairs.

"I'm sorry Lucy. I shouldn't have yelled at you, but seriously, you know that you can trust us with anything!" he said reasonably. Man I hated when he sounded like that. He's supposed to be annoying not rational.

"Look, even you and your brothers get into fights. It's seriously no big whoop!"

"Of course it's a big whoop! He beat you up! That's different from siblings fighting."

"No, it's not!"

"Yeah it is."

"No, it's-"

"Let's not do that anymore shall we. Tell you what, I'll shut up about it, if I'm sure that it was just once. If I see another bruise on your body then I'm going to beat his sorry ass." he told me.

I chocked an eyebrow. "What are you going to do? Strip me?" I asked him, smirking. Surprisingly I saw faint red blush on his cheeks. It made him look so cute!

"Oh, come on! Just lift your shirt enough so that I can see your back. And please stop trying to make it harder for me to care."

"Since when do you care for me?" I asked him. I saw a hint of alarm on his face but it disappeared just as fast as it appeared.

"You're my sis's best friend. It would break her heart knowing that you're being beaten up." he said. Nice save, I mentally commented him.

"I'm still not stripping for you." I told him. He rolled his eyes and tried to Influence me. He knew that bull would not work on me. I remained stubborn. He smirked and started tickling me. He knew that was my secret weakness. I involuntary removed my hands from the sides and he lifted my shirt up till my chest. I heard him gasp. Since I was squinting and trying to give him my back, my sides were exposed to him. He quickly stopped tickling me and I looked over my shoulder. My skin was still a bluish black fading slowly to yellow. I hadn't noticed the pain there when I fell since the worst damage had been done to my head. I remember now that when I fell I had hit my hips on the corner of the kitchen counter. When he touched me I started feeling very self-conscious. He traced the edges of the bruises with his fingers. Wherever his skin touched mine I felt a hot flaming trail.

"I'm going to kill that fucking-"

"Oh no you're not." I said. He was still examining my back when we heard footsteps coming our way.

"Hey, what's going on here?" Logan, one of Sol's brothers said. I saw him smirk big time when he saw us. "Nick, we all know you've got it bad for Lucy but could you at least wait till you get a room?"

"Shut up, Logan." Nick gave him the death glare. Logan climbed up the stairs while I tried to pull down my shirt in vain.

"What the hell are you doin-" he said but then his eyes landed on my bruises. "Who did that to you?" he asked, his voice turning serious all of a sudden.

"Look, it's noting, alight? Now stop staring at me as if I was some freak show!" I said to them and finally managed to get my shirt down.

"Her brother did that." Nick spat at me. "And she didn't tell anyone."

"I thought he wasn't a problem anymore." Logan said in a worried tone.

"Yeah, well whatever. What's done is done." I said and continued my frustrated run to Sol's room. She came out of the bathroom in her cute pajamas. "What's all the yelling about? Did you and Nick get into another fight?" Sol said with a small mischievous smile on her face. Her smile faltered and disappeared completely as she took in my face's view. She had been quite suspicious since I had broken my rib. She wouldn't believe that I could be that clumsy, but after a few weeks of suspicious glances she let it go. She was one of the few girls who disliked Josh, and thought of him as the dumb ass he really was. Okay. No living girl disliked Josh, only Sol and I did.

"Okay I'm giving you a total of thirty words to explain to me what happened before I get all of my brothers to beat the crap out of your brother."

"I punched Josh's girlfriend in the nose. He had to drive her to the hospital because I broke her nose and when he came home he was angry at me." I said counting the words on my fingers.

"That idiotic piece of shit." she muttered under her breath. Sol never cussed, which showed how upset she was about this. "Why didn't you tell anybody Luce? We would have helped you!"

"That's nice of you to care and all but really it's not a big deal. Now can we finally get to bed please?" I said stubbornly while I got in bed.

"Okay, we'll talk later about this. I'm going to get a glass of water." she switched off the lights and left the door open so I'd have some light in the room. Suddenly a figure appeared in the doorway. The yellowish light surrounded it, making it look like a silhouette. But even if I couldn't see his face clearly I knew it was _him_…

"Nick, you're blocking my light." I said in a sleepy voice. "Aw, little Lucky is afraid of the dark? Be careful there might be vampires running around!" He was talking to me as if I was mentally impaired. I smiled a little, finally things were back to normal.

"Um, I wanted to talk to you, about the thing, that happened… outside…" Nick started uncomfortably. What happened tha- I swallowed. I had kissed him! Or was it the other way round? Anyway that didn't matter! What mattered was that we really kissed! And it wasn't just my imagination since he brought it up too. Oh God this would be so embarrassing! And not just because it was my first kiss…

"Um, yes… Nick?" I asked him, pleading silently in my mind that he'd spare me the embarrassment and talk in code or something. If his brothers found out I'd never hear the end of it.

"It never happened." he said grimly. Okay, not at ALL the thing I wanted to hear. There were many possible scenarios and he had to jump to the one I simply couldn't deal with. How could you ask a girl to forget her first kiss? I know that it would sound girly and maybe even a little sappy but it felt special. Perhaps I liked Nick in that way a little bit. What the hell was I thinking? This was the guy who insulted me on a daily basis. The only reason why we stand each other is Solange.

"Seconded. Now please go. I need to sleep. It's been a rough day." I said instantly regretting my last sentence. The last thing I needed was to bring up Josh again. "Mr. Tanner gave us a test on the Civil War and it was pretty tough." I said quickly, lying through my teeth.

"Lucky. Don't ever pursue a career of acting. You stink at it." He left leaving me alone to my thoughts.

Ah, Saturday morning with the Drakes. Everybody got up late; Sol and I would make a hell of a breakfast for us, involving waffles, syrup or chocolate sauce. This was the life.

And then my Saturday morning was ruined like tears on a letter (poetic, huh?) when I heard my phone start playing Decode by Paramore, signaling that I had a text.

"Who's it from?" Sol asked me. I opened the text and found out it was from mum. What the hell was she doing awake at ten? She usually woke up at noon or later.

"Mum." I answered bleakly. The text read: Hon, I need you to come home NOW! I've got very important news to tell you!

Solange reads the text from behind my back. "That's odd, she usually lets you spend the weekend."

"I know. Must be opposite weekend." I said and shoved a forkful of waffle in my mouth and it slowly dissolved leaving a wonderful buttery taste in my mouth. I was unsure what my mum wanted. She was the kind of eccentric woman, unpredictable and crazy in her own way. I ate all the waffles and put the plate in the sink.

"I'd better get going. She could need someone to cook her breakfast or she could have seen a spider." I said randomly. Then I remembered my very carless state.

"Darn. I left my car at the coffee shop. Not that it would be any use. Stupid piece of-" I started. NO. I would not ruin my Saturday by thinking about my car problems. I'll take the bus or something.

"You can take my car. It's not like I'm going to use it, anyways. I'm under house arrest." she said nonchalantly and took a sip of her hot chocolate.

"Thanks, you're a life saver. I promise I'll bring it back with a full tank of gas." I said and drowned my coffee.

"Don't mention it." Sol waved her hand off. "But we need to talk. You're not off the hook yet." She said giving me a look that just said "Don't you dare try to get out of this one." I sighed. "I'm going to change." I informed her and darted up to her room.

I pulled Sol's car in our shabby driveway that has seen many better days. Just the sight of Sol's cute convertible mini in it looked surreal, as if it was edited in the picture.

I parked the car next to Josh's and knocked on the door since I had left my keys in my car. Josh opened the door, with an unreadable expression on his face. Sure it changed to disgust when he found out it was me. Yep, love you too, bro."Do you know what this is about?" I asked him.

"Don't know. She wouldn't tell before you arrive." he said to me with a shrug. I started walking towards the kitchen and the minute I took in the view in front of me I threw up a little in my mouth. There goes the wonderful taste or waffles and fresh coffee in my mouth. I found mum licking the saliva out of Phil's mouth.

"Get a room, will you? I'd like to keep my innocence a little longer." I said to them covering my eyes. I've seen mum and her guys even naked on the couch so I guess it was a little too late for that.

"Pathetic virgin" my brother fake coughed from beside me.

"Man whore." I retorted.

"Enough! Kids today you shouldn't be fighting because it's a very happy day!"

"Please don't say you're pregnant." I whispered with crossed fingers. All I needed was a toddler crying in my head all day while I clean and cook!

"We're getting married! Tomorrow!" she exclaimed, her smile splitting her face from ear to ear.

And there goes my Saturday.

"Mum, what do you mean you're getting married TOMORROW?" I asked her, seriously considering the fact that she was insane. I realised I was gripping Josh and he was gripping me back tightly. We had both jumped in shock. When we both realised the position we were in we let go and stepped away from each other, our looks saying "Talk about it and you're dead."

"Just that hon, and you're going to be my bridesmaid and her usher, she said looking at us.

"I'd rather shave my head." My brother shouted the moment I yelled, "Over my dead body." And this just wasn't about being stuck with Josh as my usher but also about being a bridesmaid to my mother's second wedding. Even though I had no clue about what happened to my father, he had been a very special person to me, the only one I connected with in my family. To be a bridesmaid would not only appear as if I approved of this wedding, which I didn't but also that I believed in their love and forgotten all about my dad. I know it's selfish of me, after all, my mother's only forty so I shouldn't expect her to spend her life on her own, which I didn't. I just didn't want her to get married. Is that so wrong? I snuck a glance over to my brother. His eyes were broken; there was no light in them. It felt as if we were eleven again and dad disappeared. I think Josh wouldn't be such a dick if he hadn't lost dad. Physically he's tough but emotionally he's wrecked. I pity him and I want to help him but I don't know how.

He pushed away from me and walked over to the fridge to get a beer. Great, he'll drown his sorrows in alcohol, typical Josh.

"Young man, you are not supposed to drink that." Phil said as Josh drowned the beer in fewer than five gulps.

"Shut the fuck up. Hope you're happy mum. Don't even think this creepy shrink will ever replace dad. No one can. I'm going back to bed. Don't bug me." He said and with one last glare at Phil he made his way upstairs.

I don't know how to feel. I'm happy for mum but I hate the idea. I despise Phil and the though of him living in the same house as I do makes me shudder.

Mum and Phil were frozen. The silence was unbearable in the room. Finally mum broke the silence when she sighed against Phil's chest.

"Lucy, honey, so what do you say? Your brother obviously won't be your usher but will you be my bridesmaid? If you want you can ask your friend, what's her name… Solaris to be a bridesmaid too." she asked me. I stared at her, my mouth gapping open.

"Her name is SOLANGE mum. And she's not my friend she's my BEST friend and the most important person in my life. I'll be your bridesmaid when hell freezes over!" I shouted at her with a little uncomfortable throb in the left side of my chest. Tears threatened to spill out of my eyes. She had time to remember Phil's children's names but she wouldn't even remember my best friend's name? I cared so much for her, I did all the work in the house, I protected her from freaky perverts and she doesn't even take the time to remember Sol's name?"

"That's no way to talk to your mother." Phil started at me. I felt the need to kick or stab something.

"Why would you bother marrying her? You already fuck her, what else do you need?" I asked him and with that made my exit. I wanted to go to Sol's badly but I needed to pack some stuff first. I ran upstairs to my bedroom and started shoving stuff in a big gym bag. But everything caught up to me, my dad's disappearance, my mum and Phil, Josh… I just broke in a fit of sobs and curled my self on the bed.

Someone knocked on my door. I took a deep breath to make sure my voice didn't crack. "Go to hell." I said to whoever was behind my door.

"It's me. I need to talk to you… it' important." Josh's voice said. I was about to insult him again but for the first time in years his voice wasn't cocky, insulting, disgusted or angry. He sounded… tired. I wiped my eyes and looked over to the mirror. They were bloodshot and puffy. My face looked like a mask now. My jaw was purple, going yellow and my eyes were red and the side of my face which hadn't suffered anything was chalky white, almost as pale as the Drake's.

"Come in, it's open." I muttered. I heard the door click and Rosewood High School's bad boy and star quarterback came into my room. His eyes were like mine showing that he had been crying too.

"I don't want to live with mum and Phil." he said to me. I stared at him.

"So? Why are you telling me?"

"I don't want you to live with mum either."

"What do you want Josh? Since when do you give a damn fuck about me?" I asked him, cutting straight to the chase. I knew I was being the difficult one but if you'd spend five years being your brother's favourite punching bag you wouldn't act loving and caring either.

"I don't. But mum just doesn't deserve you. You're her personal maid." he stated. I didn't know exactly how to respond to that.

"Get to your point 'cause I'm lost." I said to him.

"Would you like to come live with me in an apartment of our own? You'd cook and clean and do all the chores and we'll split the rent twenty-five, seventy five." He said pointing first at me than at him. I stared at him. There's something seriously wrong with my ears today.

"Josh it's a really bad time for jokes." I said to him.

"I'm not joking."

"Okay, let me get this straight. You want me to be your personal maid and punching bag and deprive myself of sleep to listen to you hump the brains out of your bitches?" I just couldn't put my finger on which one I was mad about the most.

"You make it sound really bad if you say it like that." he said. "Is there any good way to say it?" I asked him. "For Pete's sake Josh, you beat me up, your bitchy girlfriends make my life hell and for some reason I'm our school's number one psycho nerd! Why don't you find one of your guy friends to bunk with?" I asked him.

"Look I'm sorry. I promise I'll never put my hands on you again and I'll tell Stella and the others to stop bugging you and I'll limit my um… company to once a week or anytime when you stay at the Drake's." he pleaded.

"I'm sorry, I just can't trust you." I said coolly.

"Please! I can't do this by myself, and you know it takes a lot of me to say that to you. I haven't been myself ever since dad disappeared. And I guess I took it out on you. I'm really sorry. So what do you say?" he asked me, giving me the puppy dog eyes.

"I don't know, give me some time to think about it, 'kay?" he nodded.

I just wish dad was still here." he confessed.

"Yeah, me too."

**XXX**

**Thanks for reading, hope you liked it! I'm sooo sorry I didn't post for so long. I've been completing a very sensitive part in my other book so I kind of put everything to the sides, so thanks for bearing with me. I promise I'll update at least once ever 10 days or so… again sorry, if you read my story Outcast you'd know I update fast.**

**Please review and tell me what you think. I love to see your reactions! :D**

**xxx VampGirl330 xxx**


	4. Prince Charming, Sort of

A/N: Here's the cast I imagine for this story.

Lucy – Selena Gomez

Solange - Lyndsy Fonseca

Nicholas – Gaspard Ulliel

Logan - Taylor Lautner

Josh - Jared Padalecki

**Chapter 4**

**+Lucy+**

After my serious talk with Josh I went back to Solange's. I told her everything that happened to me, my mum's big news and Josh's even bigger and more surprising request.

"Yeah, and just like that he asked me to go live with him."I concluded to the bewildered Solange.

"Well, one thing's certain. You can't give in. It would be the biggest mistake you could ever do if you accept and go live with him. I phoned mum and dad and told them. They said you can move in with us anytime you want. All you have to do is accept." Solange muttered softly. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. The urge to accept and thank them with all my heart almost knocked my will down. Almost.

"Sol, you know you guys are like a family to me but I can't accept. You've already got a big family and other than that do you think your brothers and parents... and even you when you turn into a vampire will enjoy my presence at your house. It would be like being hungry and opening the fridge, only to find it empty, but then a mouth-watering piece of apple pie comes down the stairs to make some coffee. Would you be able to resist the apple pie, Sol? Would you?"

Sol chuckled at me. "Would you stop referring yourself as an apple pie? I'm imagining you in an apple pie costume and I can't keep a straight face." I laughed too, that would be a pretty hilarious sight. Huh, maybe for this year's Halloween I should go as a piece of apple pie. I imagined me and Solange, both in pie suits going to the Halloween mascaraed ball. It would be so legendary! We'd be like, "Out of the way, hot stuff coming through straight from the oven."

"Sol, do you know where we can rent pie shaped costumes?" Solange shook her head at me. "Really, Lucy? Pie shaped costumes? Focus! I swear you must have the attention span of a squirrel."she said, her smile contrasting her back-to-business look."I do not!" I said even though it was a total lie. I get distracted really easily.

"Lucy, sober up for one moment. It honestly won't be a problem. I had a little talk with my brothers and they said that it's perfectly okay for them. I know you so I know you'll be stubborn and I swear that big pride of yours gets on my last nerve sometimes but promise me you'll think about it." she said. Her eyes were locked with mine, making me automatically unable to say no.

"Fine, I'll think about it. Happy?" I asked her.

"Can't you see I'm bursting with joy."she asked me as she hugged me. I hugged her back. Solange was a really good friend, she deserved someone better than me. I swear the idea was tempting at first but if you see it through you'd see that it wouldn't be so comfortable for either of us. I already felt a little bit awkward when I showered here, knowing that everybody could hear each and every single thing you do. And don't get me started with the levels of insanity I'd reach if I had to live with Nicky twenty-four/ seven. We'd be at each other's throats by the first week.

"So, are you going to your mother's wedding?" Sol asked me doubtfully, biting her lower lip. To be honest I hadn't really decided yet. I was quite unsure. On one hand I was happy that she had finally settled and on the other I wanted to slap her and call her the worst of names for getting over my dad so fast. I knew it was unfair and that maybe five years were inough and that I was being selfish, but I was just a girl who missed her daddy. I wanted him to be there during the though times, I wanted him to squeeze my hand and tell me that he'd always be there. I wanted him to stop Josh from his path of vices and senseless sex, but after all that's all he knew from his only figurehead, my mum.

"I don't know. I think I should but at the same time I feel guilty. What do you think I should do and before you start, if you say 'follow your heart' I'm going to jump out of that window." I answered.

"Ah, Luce you have such a way with words. Well honestly if I was in your situation, I'd try to start accepting my mother and her decision, after all it's been five years since... you know what..." That was another thing about So. She was very sensible to people around her. Josh and I aren't idiots, we know the rumors people spread and to be honest, I act tough about it but I'm not. It hurts to think that you were abandoned by the closest parent. Solange never had any of it and she kept giving me hope that he'd return, as thin as the chances looked.

"So should I go to the wedding?" I asked doubtfully. She clicked her tongue, "Well, only you can answer that question."

"I... I think I should go, after all she is my mother and I can't abandon her. But I won't go unless you come with me. I don't want to be stuck with just my brother for company amongst Phil's snobby friends."

"You know I got your back, but we don't have any dresses. We have to go dress shopping." Sol said sounding quite skeptic about it.

"Yeah, I doubt Nick will even let us step outside within five metres away from the door, let alone going to a crowded mall star."

"Did someone say my name?" Nick said, suddenly appearing in he doorway.

"Is it just me who thinks you're acting like a freaky stalker? For crying out loud we were just talking? Don't tell me we're not even allowed to talk in private!"

He snorted. "Knowing you, Lucky you're probably already devising some plan to sneak her out. It would probably be smart to keep you in particular under tight surveillance. Sol wouldn't get herself in half the trouble she gets in if it wasn't for you."

I stood up to be at eye level with him but I would have to climb on a stool to look at him in the eyes, I put my hand on the left side of my chest in mock guilt. "Ah, yes, Nicky. You caught me red handed. I was just putting the finishing touches on our escape plan since I've already completed the ultimate plans for world domination."

"I wouldn't expect anything less from you." He said and smiled a sarcastic smile at me.

"But seriously, Sol, please don't let her influence you into doing crazy stuff. God forbids what we'll have to do to keep you out of trouble once she moves in?" Okay now, he was starting to get on my last damn nerve.

"Who said anything about moving in? I'd rather move in a minuscule apartment with my douche of a brother than being stuck with an even bigger douche like you in the same house twenty-four/ seven." I felt my blood boil in my veins and I noticed how his gaze lingered more than it should have on my neck, probably noticing the pulsing of my veins. I didn't miss the way he licked his lips and looked as if he was finding it difficult to look away. I snapped my fingers to get him out of his hungry daydreaming. Once he snapped out of it he shook his head and rubbed his eyes.

"I'm sorry Lucy, I didn't mean to, I forgot to feed this morning. But you can't possibly be serious about moving in with your brother. He literally used you as his personal punching bag." the tone of his voice confused me. It sounded caring, even pleading me not to do it. Very un-Nicky-ish.

"I don't know what I'll do, I have to think about it?" He laughed at my statement though his laugh was stale and held no humour in it. "Think about it? Can you even hear yourself talking? There's nothing to think about. Just accept, and let somebody help you, for a change. You're one person, you can't fight the world on your own, nor can you fight a sixteen year old gangster on your own." by now his voice was shaking with anger, and he was gripping my arm so tightly that it was starting to hurt.

Looking at him dead in the eyes I said, "If you don't want me to punch you in the face get your hand off me." Only then he seemed to realise that he was exerting too much force in his grip and stepped away from me.

"Just promise that you won't let yourself be fooled like that." he asked me in a much softer voice, his eyes pleading.

"Oh, look, Nicky's gone all soft on us!" I said as I broke out laughing. Solange, who by now had learned our routines of fighting, burst out laughing too. Nick looked at her with narrowed eyes and then turned to me. "You're impossible. I wonder why I still try to help you!"he said, right before he stormed out of the room.

"You know, I was thinking the same thing since you randomly decided to help me today of all days."I shouted after him.

He turned around on his heals to look at me straight in the eyes. "Well, excuse me Princess for trying to save you ass from getting beaten everyday by that pathetic excuse of a brother of yours." he said, sarcasm dripping down his every word.

"Since when do you care?" I shouted, putting all my anger and hurt into my words.

"I've always cared! Do you think I can stand here with my hands on my laps after seeing those bruises on you and not rip his head off?" he asked me. The fury in his words made me cringe. Just as I was opening my mouth to let out another smart ass comeback his words registered in my head.

"I-I didn't know you felt this way." I said, my gaze glued to the dirty white tops of my converse.

"Just accept. Please." I started stuttering. It all stopped once I felt his finger under my chin, pushing up my face to so that we could make eye contact. I felt my cheeks heat up as I realised that there were only a few inches between our lips. I saw him lick his lips and step away from me, our little moment vanishing as bloodlust started making itself noticed within him.

"So what do you say?"

"I'll think about it, 'kay?" with one last look he turned around and headed down the stairs.

"Wow. Just wow." I heard Solange mutter under her breath. "What wow?" I asked her, mindlessly touching my chin where Nick's cool finger had once been a few minutes ago.

"I'm not sure if I should be happy or creeped out that my best friend and my brother bicker like an old married couple." she said. I was going to deny it as usual but she gripped my hand before I could open my mouth and led me downstairs into the living room where a bored Logan was probably checking out his emails or something.

"Logan we need a favour." Sol cut it short. Logan looked up at her with a knowing grin. "Don't you always? So what do you need, sis and sis' BFF?"

"We need you to take us dress shopping. Lucy's mother is getting married today and we're dress-less."

"Well, that was sudden." He stated simply. "It's not really safe for you to go outside, you know that, right?" he said.

"Come on, Logan! Please just this once. If it reassures you, you can come shopping with us and to the wedding. Plus I'm pretty sure that you owe me a favour. You know, the last time you went clubbing till five in the morning I covered for you with mum and dad."

He grimaced."I thought you had forgotten about that." Sol smirked at him. "Yeah, right."

"Sol, he's right. It's too risky. It's just a stupid wedding. I don't want to risk your safety. The Helios Ra are hot on your trails and I just couldn't bare seeing you get hurt."

"But-"

I interrupted her. "No buts. It was a stupid idea. It pains me to say it but he-who-must-not-be-named may be a little right. I do sometimes have crazy ideas." I said, feeling as if I wanted to bleach my mouth after I said those words.

"Wait!When has_Lord__Voldemort_ever said that you have stupid and crazy ideas? Cause he's dead right!" Logan said. I raised an eyebrow at him and he returned my gesture with a wink. I was obviously referring to Nick not Lord Voldemort.

"Well, okay... but if I can't come you have to take one of my brothers with you." she said. Logan grinned noncommittally, and just then, Logan entered, draining dry a bottle of thick red blood. I was thankful that I had quite a strong stomach, as I was used to dealing wih nose bleeds caused by my brother, but Sol on the other hand wasn't, which was a little ironic considering that in a few weeks she's want nothing more than to suck down gallons of that stuff.

"Nick, please, I told you either drink from the opaque bottles or at lease if you have to drink from the transparent ones do it where I can't see you." she said holding her hand over her mouth.

"Sorry, Sol." he answered dismissively. His phone chimed, signaling that he got a text, he pulled out his phone to answer. Not more than five seconds after he sent the text, he received another one! Someone spell clingy girlfriend with a capital C. Whoa, wait! Where did that come from? It almost sounded as if I was... jealous! I saw the way he smiled every time he opened a new text and it only made me angrier. I bit my bottom lip and forced myself to look away from him. But an annoying throb on the left side of my chest wouldn't allow me to feel forget about it. Could this mean that I had a cr- nah it was impossible, illogical, not after the way we fought constantly.

"Well, as I was saying, one of you guys will go with Luce o the wedding. Logan? " she asked him.

He looked at me guiltily. "I've already made plans to go on a date with Morgan, but if need be I guess I can cancel."

"Oh, no. By all means go on your date I don't really need an escort. I'll be fine, really." I said. he nodded and thanked me.

"How 'bout you Nick?" she asked. I let out a short laugh. "Him? Of all people. I'm not a fan of my mum's wedding but I don't want it to end in utter havoc. You're slacking off, Sol, if you think we'd be able to stand withing a five metre distance without fighting."

"Oh, come on, Luce it's not that bad of an idea."

"Um... if I may interrupt your useless argument. I've already made plans." Nick's voice interrupted.

"Nick, watching The Fast and the Furious again alone on a Saturday evening is a sad case, not plans." Sol served him right up with a witty comment.

"What if I told you that I had plans tonight, to go out with somebody?" He retorted. Why my heart felt as if someone had squeezed it to a pulp I didn't want to ponder about. I just looked at Sol, anywhere would be okay except directly in the eyes.

"It's okay, really I don't mind going alone." I said. By the the time I uttered he last word I felt as if my voice was on the verge of breaking. I knew it was unreasonable but my heart just kept tightening in my chest.

"But what if your brother tries to beat you up again." Sol asked me in a small voice. I stood up, balling my fists tightly. "I can handle my brother easily." I said with false determination.

"No, obviously you can't. I'll come with you." He said. Was that pity I sensed in his tone of voice?

"No, I don't want to go with you. My brother is not a problem anymore, we sorted everything out." I insisted stubbornly. Nick snorted. "If he's not a problem anymore then explain to me why you're still pelted in bruises?" He asked, lifting up my shirt so that my hip was exposed.

"They don't just heal instantly. He promised me he won't do it anymore just today." I relied, obviously putting far more faith in my brother than he really deserved.

"And you're actually naive enough to fall for that. I'm coming, like it or not. End of conversation." he said, diverting his attention back to his phone.

"Ugh! I hate you! Just go out with your girlfriend and leave me the hell alone. I don't need you." I said, and with that I stormed off to Sol's room feeling like some bratty child. Sol was right we were acting like an old married couple. I didn't know why but thinking of him dating some girl, some_beautiful,__vampire_ girl, everything that I'm not made me feel emotional and insecure, something that I definitely wasn't.

A few minutes later, Sol entered the room with a cup of hot chocolate with little marshmallows in it and a grilled cheese toast in her hands. She gave them to me and watched me as I ate hungrily. When I was ready I looked at her, and she gave me the one thing I needed the most, a reassuring hug.

"This is the worst day ever since my dad disappeared." I mumbled. She patted my back and insisted that I pour out my feelings, but that's not how I work. I'm unable to express feelings, I just have unusual emotional outbursts every once in a while.

"Luce, do you want to skip the wedding, hang out her and watch a movie or something?" she asked me softly. As tempting as that sounded I shook my head. "I can' abandon my brother and my mother." I said. She nodded and smiled proudly at me. She went over to her closed and after a couple of minutes of havoc, she came out with a red dress in her hands."

"I've already told Nick to get ready. Come on, we need to work on you now, I hope this dress fits you. Try it on." She said. I nodded and as she went downstairs to put the dirty mug and plate in the sink, I trued the dress on. It was just perfect on me. It came a few inches above my knees in a cascade of soft dark red chiffon. It was flowy enough that it allowed me to breath without looking baggy. It had spaghetti straps and and a beaded line just below the bust.

"Oh my gosh, Lucy you look beautiful!" After that she started working with my hair. She split my hair into two and left the bottom half straight and braided the sides of the top half. As I looked in the mirror I saw myself changing completely from this plain tomboy to this elegant young woman. I rocked the outfit with Sol's black peep toe high heeled pumps. As I was never a fan of make up, Sol and I ended up arguing as she insisted that she wanted to put on smoky eyeshadow, while I insisted that I'd rather put on a some eyeliner and mascara.

As usual she got her way.

And well,I ha to admit that it did look pretty good. Next we covered up some bruises on my legs and I was good to go. Just as I was about to exit the room to go join my Prince Charming - yeah, not likely – Sol whispered in my ear, "Nick will sure have a hard time trying to keep his eyes off of you."

I bit my lip. That's just what I needed to sent my nerves rocketing to the skies. I felt my palms getting sweaty and my heart was beating frantically. Just as we exited exited the door and made our way downstairs, we found a sullen Nickolas complaining about how long we were taking just to get me ready to Logan. The latter was the first one to set eyes on me as I made my way down the stairs thinking about each end every step I was making carefully in fear of falling flat on my face. He wolf whistled at me which caught Nick's attention. he turned his gaze on me and he wouldn't look away. When I finally stepped on the last step and onto the floor I silently thanked the high heels for being so comfortable. It was like floating on two soft pads. High heels were never my best friends but these seemed to be perfect for my clumsy self.

Nick flicked his black hair out of his eyes and I saw him fidgeting with his red tie, which happened to be the same colour as my dress. If that was a coincidence or not I wasn't sure, but we ertainly seemed like a perfect match.

"Damn! Do you by any chance have an army of stylists locked up in your room?" Logan asked. I raised my eyebrows at him. He smiled at me and winked. "Kidding. You always look lovely but tonight you make the shiniest of stars look dim compared to you." Ah, Logan, the sweet, shameless flirt.

"Thanks." I responded.

"Anytime. Now go to go; be good and stay safe Sol. You know that the others will be looking after you. And as for you two, stay protected. You don't want to end up pregnant with a half-vampire baby. The rubbers are-"

"Get lost, Logan."Nick said to both our embarrassment. Logan just winked at us and left. I noticed that Nick hadn't even uttered a single word about how I look and to be honest, it bothered me that he acted this way. Truth be told, part of why I let Sol get carried away with my makeup and hair was to impress him. Perhaps he'd forget for a moment who he was texting. We bid our adieus to Sol, who instantly went back to her paintings and silently walked outside towards his black sports car. He opened my door and I couldn't help but say, "Oh, so chivalrous." I tried many failed attempts to sit down. It's not that east getting into a sports car while wearing a dress. They're uncomfortable as hell. It felt as if my but would never make contact with the seat.

"Of, course. I'm a gentleman after all." He said in a fake British accent. He went to his seat and sat with much more agility than me as he was used to the car. "Oh, and Lucy." my heart skipped a beat when he called me by the nickname I actually liked. "You look truly, beautiful. You'll probably break some hearts tonight." he said, eying me from head to toe.

"Thanks." I muttered softly. He had managed to turn one of the worst days of my live into one of the most memorable ones in my life.

Nicholas Drake said that I looked beautiful, how could I not feel ecstatic?

**XXX**

**Hope you liked it! Review and tell me what you think :D**


	5. Love Bites

**Chapter 5**

**+ Lucy +**

"You're trying to kill me! I knew it!" I accused Nick as I gripped tightly onto the seat beneath me. I closed my eyes as we plunged into the darkness, only the headlights giving us a hint of the long street ahead of us.

He chuckled, he dared to chuckle while I was saying my last prayers in fear of losing my life. "I'm not even touching you! What are talking about, woman?"

"I'm talking about the fact that you're going over twenty miles over the speed limit. Slow the hell down before you send me flying out of the car." the showoff wanted to ride in an open convertible, which on other occasions would have been great, but not today when I had my hair set up and all. He could say whatever he wanted but I hated sports cars. They scared the crap out of me.

"You're wearing the seatbelt. Now would you just relax. I know what I'm doing." I sighed and bit my tongue. There was no need to retort, it's not like he would make us crash. I looked and through the trees above us I could see parts of the starry night sky. The sight was quite soothing and it calmed me.

I heard Nick cough, probably to get my attention.

"So... did you think a little bit about moving in with us?" he asked me. I sighed. I was honestly trying to take it off my mind, not think about it.

"Nick... it's more complicated than you make it out to be... you wouldn't understand."

He stopped the car so suddenly that the seat belt dug into my chest. "Ouch! A little warning would have been nice." I said, my chest stinging painfully.

"Then help me understand." he said as he crossed his arms. He had left the car switched on so that we weren't in complete darkness.

"Nick, don't ruin this. I don't want to talk about it." his phone rung, signalling that he had received a text, but he ignored it.

"Aren't you going to get that?" I asked. For some reason my voice sounded annoyed, catty, and maybe a little bit jeal- No I was NOT jealous of whoever was texting him.

"Stop trying to change the subject. Lucy, I won't be able to hold myself when I'll see your brother. Just thinking about him makes my blood boil. I can't believe how he dared to touch my..." and with that he stopped. His what? What was I to him? And in what way could I ever be 'his'? He looked away and said something intelligible but which sounded suspiciously like swearing.

"Nick." He started the car but before he could press the gas pedal I put my hand on his, which was gripping tightly the steering wheel. The second my skin touched his it felt as if electricity ran through me. I had never experienced such a feeling before and I couldn't help but feel shy. I felt my blood drain from my face and concentrate on just one point, my cheeks.

He put a finger under my chin, making me look up. I almost choked on my own breath as I looked up and saw that his lips where mere inches from mine. Was it hot in here or was it just me?

"Yes?" his voice had never sounded so alluring before. I gulped. What did I want to tell him? All I could think about where his silvery blue. C'mon Lucy! Think. He asked you a question.

"I... um I'm your what?" I asked sounding lost. He didn't answer; instead he closed in on those few inches. I closed my eyes, savouring in his musky smell. I knew that if he kissed me I would explode with pleasure, so the bittersweet pleasure pain of the wait for his lips to softly meet with mine was killing me. Yet this never came. His silky lips did not touch mine. They touched my neck.

I knew I should have felt terrified. Nick may not act that much like the stereotype vampire with the cape and all, but he was still a vampire.

"You know, you've been tempting me all night with that cute blush of yours." He said. My instincts told me to get alarmed, do something and try to stop him. But I didn't want to. I heard a little sound, barely nothing but it was enough to alert me that his fangs had elongated. He didn't bite me, he just grazed my skin with them. I held my breath every time his sharp canines touched my skin. I was greedy. I wanted more of his touch despise the danger I was putting myself into.

I put my free hand behind his neck and slowly slid my fingers into his soft black hair. I tilted my head so that it was just at the right angle. In this situation, I got to know a darker side of me, one that enjoyed pain, one that longed for his gentle touch. Maybe being my brother's punching bag for all these years had made me grow accused to the pain, almost crave it. Not in a brutal way like my brother but much gently. He responded quite well to my caress. He bit softly, so soft that it didn't even brake skin. He just sucked on my skin. But this was no ordinary love bite. We knew that we were playing with fire, and that at any given moment we might get burnt. One wrong move, just slightly but enough for his fangs to penetrate my skin would cause my death if he didn't find enough control in himself to stop before he killed me. But what did we care! We were teenagers - him being seventeen and me being almost sixteen - just for once we wanted to be reckless, carefree. No Helios Ra, no Montmarte, just us.

Slowly, what we were doing started sinking in. He was my best friend's brother, we shouldn't even stand each other. I removed my hands from his hair and put them to his chest, trying to find the will to stop and push him away.

"Nick, we shouldn't..." I mumbled. He had stopped biting and was now putting soft butterfly kisses along my neck. He groaned.

"Lucy I..." his voice trailed off into nowhere. "Yes?" I asked him, urging him to speak. "I think I'm fallin- Oh holy shit!" in mid sentence he stopped, his eyes widened, probably good sense kicking in as he saw the hickey he had made on my neck. He broke his contact with me and stood as far away from me as possible as the car allowed.

"Fuck! Lucy, I-" I put my finger to his lips. "Don't say anything." we stayed there in silence while trying to obviously put our thoughts into order.

"Lucy I was just saying that wanted to beat the shit out of your brother for hurting you and now I hurt you. Just look at your neck!" he said, finally removing my finger from his lips.

"It's okay, really, it didn't even hurt." I tried to comfort him. Looking over at the mirror I could see how the new mark looked on my skin. Had I not covered up the other bruises, I would have looked like the poster girl for abused children.

But I really didn't mind Nick's little 'bruise'. I had scars, much uglier than that running along my body, so a little violet black wound, smaller than my pinkie which would eventually heal was not a big of a deal for me.

"I'm sorry, Lucy." he said, his eyes looking broken. He was looking away from me, as if it shamed him to look in my eyes. Hesitantly, I put my hand on his shoulder, making him look up.

"You really shouldn't be." he smiled weakly at me. "Now would you please go back to being your old obnoxious self Nicky, you're creeping me out with all this apologising." I said with a grin. He grinned back. "Whatever you say, lucky." and with that he pressed the gas pedal and we sped away, leaving a trail of dust and curses from me about his infernal speeding.

"So, you didn't exactly tell me where we're heading. I was just driving towards your house." he said after a while.

"Yeah, to be honest I don't know. But I still need to pick something up from my house." I said as he turned round the corner where my house was. He parked in the driveway. "Go on, I'll wait for you." he said, reaching inside his pockets to get his phone. Ignoring his earlier command, I grabbed his hand and pulled him out of his car before he could check that damned phone of his. I opened the door and lead him inside. I didn't let go of his arm until we reached my room. I went over to my dresser to get a black scarf that would match up the red dress and black pumps nicely. I did not want people to judge me once they see the love bite. Not that I cared what they said but sometimes it's best to just not give them anything to gossip about. I was short tempered enough and Nick wasn't exactly Mr. Nice Guy either. As I wrecked havoc in my dresser I heard somebody snicker from behind me.

I turned around and found Nick with my unicorn soft toy in his hands.

"Do you do it on purpose, try to give me more material to tease you about?" he asked me. I sighed and turned around, so that I could continue searching for my scarf. When I finally found it I got up and snatched the soft toy from his hands.

"Um, let me think... No." I hugged Stella the Unicorn and put her back on my bed.

He continued snooping around in my room. "Do you mind?" I asked as he was about to make another comment on my Care bear collection.

"Well, you practically dragged me in your room, what did you expect?" he asked me. I rolled my eyes at him and put my scarf around my neck so that it covered the love bite completely.

"Good call." he said as he tugged and moved my scarf so that my neck was completely covered.

"Nick, you know that we need to talk, right? You're sending me so many mixed signals. I mean first you're obnoxious then sweet and caring, then you kiss me and now-" it was his turn to put a finger to my lips.

"I know. But you're just so hard to resist." his voice was soft, willing me to understand. He softly traced my lips with his finger and tugged a rebel strand of my hair behind my ear. The atmosphere was so blissful. I had never made the first move but I wanted to kiss him so much. In these heels all I has to do was reach up slightly. And that was what I did. And just as our lips were about to touch a voice splintered the bliss and intimacy of the moment.

My brother's voice.

"Lucy, are you home? Where the hell did you put my blue tie?"

Without knocking he opened the door. I stepped away from Nick when I headed the door creak open but Nick graves hold of my hand. His look said one thing only.

Revenge.

Oh, this was _so_ not going to go well.

XxxX

I know it's short but at least it's an update. Hope you liked it! So if you did don't hesitate to review! It's your reviews that fuel the updates! So if you liked it tell me... You know you want to :P 


	6. Sexually Attracted or Something

**Chapter 6**

**+ Lucy + **

Josh entered in my room. He had in his hand one of Dad's old ties. He was staring in distaste at the god awful colour. For some unknown reason, Dad used to buy the most ridiculously coloured ties. Yet his eyes didn't only hold diastase, there was even a hint of nostalgia. I remembered how excited Josh would get when Dad asked him to pick a tie for him. At eleven years old, we both thought that Dad's ties were the latest trends. It was that side of him that gave me hope, that made me hesitate to join the Drake's and leave him to his own destiny.

I swallowed as he diverted his attention from the tie and looked up. His eyes instantly met Nick's. At first he was confused, obviously he didn't recognise Nick, they had met maybe two, three times tops. But Nick's hateful glare soon wiped off all confusion on my brother's face and he returned the look. No one had spoken so the tension in the room was quite high. I could almost feel the levels of testosterone rising in the room.

My brother finally broke the silence.

"Who the fuck are you?" he asked Nick. Nick smiled humourlessly. "Maybe I should jog your memory a little."

I knew what was going to happen. I felt a great sense of déjà vu and a memory played in my mind like a flashback.

_I was twelve years old. I was sitting alone in the playground which was just a few blocks down our street. I was waiting for Solange to come. She said that her mother would bring her and maybe some of her brothers later. I felt depressed at home so I preferred to wait there rather than spend the next hour or so looking at the clock as it slowly ticked away._

My brother came, along with his 'gang'. They came up to me and stopped. "What the fuck are you doing here, bitch? Get your ugly ass face at home, brace face." he said to me. Within a year of our father's disappearance be had turned into a delinquent. He swore all the time, was a hopeless drunk and smoked cigarettes and pot. I had tried to be gentle, but I'm a quick learner. He would just push me over if I didn't stand up to him, and so, if he swore at me, I swore back.

"You're not the boss of me. If you don't like my face perhaps you should be the one getting out of the fucking way!" I retorted. Some of his friends snickered behind his back.

"Bitch! I'll show you!" and with that he charged at me, tackling me off the swing and onto the ground. I tried to restrain him but he was just so strong. He kept punching me. Of course, I punched back and caught him off guard; I switched our position with myself on top of him. I continued scratching at his face and trying to knock him out cold but it wasn't easy. To make matters worse two of his friends started kicking me. I heard a girl scream which I instantly recognised as Solange. Suddenly somebody lifted me off my brother non too gently to replace me. I wiped the blood which was running down my nose and looked at me saviour.

"Don't you dare hit her! Don't you dare fuckin' touch her ever again or I'll kill you." It was **him**_. Nick had saved me from my brother's fury and started beating the crap out of him. My brother had landed a hit on him of two but that didn't discourage him. He kept going on, his fist never giving my brother's face a break._

None of my brother's so-called friends helped him, so reluctantly I had to pull Nick away. Thankfully Solange and Logan came to my aid.

But today...

Neither Solange nor Logan where here to help me if things got rough.

"No, Nick, please." I took a hold of his hand, which after a few seconds relaxed.

"It still doesn't answer my question. Lucy, what the fuck is this guy doing in your room?"

"He's... um..." I started stuttering. Why was he really here, anyways?

"I'm her date to the wedding." Nick said, and much to my surprise grabbed me and put an arm round my waist.

"Date? Lucy never told me that she had a date." Josh said as he stared at Nick's hand around my waist.

Nick laughed humourlessly. "We both discovered new things about Lucy recently. Do you want to know what I discovered?" he asked, and without even giving Josh the time to answer he said, "I found out that she's being beaten up by her brother." Josh's eyes widened. In one of his quick, vampiric movements, Nick left my side and grabbed Josh by the throat.

"And that makes me extremely angry. I warned you four years ago. You little shit covered her body in bruises. I should kill you." I watched with wide eyes as Nick struggled to restrain his fangs from elongating. His violent side was on the verge of taking over him. I could feel it.

"What are you saying? There's not a single bruise on her body." Josh defended himself.

Nick growled, "That's because she had to cover them up with makeup! Apologise to her!"

Nick then looked at me, giving me a bewildered stare. After what seemed like an eternity he mumbled an apology.

"And if you ever hit her again. I'll make your life so miserable that you'll beg me to kill you." Nick said to him in a whisper which made the threat sound even more menacing. When he finally let go of my brother, the latter looked at me, a mixture of confusion, bewilderment and accusation in his eyes. I had never seen Josh so quiet, defenceless, at least not in the past three years.

I felt too surprised to say anything. Nick's over-protective attitude had caught me off guard. When both their glances fell on me, I felt the need to speak. "Uh, I think that the blue one is in the top left drawer, on the right." I said to Josh who was rubbing his neck nodded and left. This left me alone in the room with Nick once more.

"I hope that teaches him a lesson." Nick said as he glared at the spot Josh had been a few seconds ago. "You were too hard on him." I scolded. Josh was already a violent person and exposing him to more violence sure as hell wasn't helpful. Though it was touching and very significant to me, the way Nick got all protective over me, to Josh it must have been humiliating.

"Hard? Your face looked like a rainbow with all those purplish blue fading bruises." Nick said. I sighed. Even if he was trying to be helpful, he'd never realise how much Josh was fragile. The front he put up was tough, alright, but I could see right through it.

After a few moments of awkward silence, Nick finally decided to speak up. He sat the bed across of me. He was clever; he knew that in the position he was he could gaze into my eyes which were lowered down. "Look, I'm sorry if I sounded harsh but I meant every world I said." he said softly, yet somehow still managing to sound determined.

For the first time in my life since I've known Nick, I was left without a smart ass comeback. And that scared me more than my brother ever did. Usually I would insult him, tell him he's going all soft and mushy but I couldn't bring myself to do it today. Could it be possible that I actually liked having normal conversations with him? No that was impossible. I lost all of my childhood the day my dad left and only Solange's friendship and Nicky's constant bickering kept me from becoming a delinquent myself.

Who was I trying to kid? Hadn't it been for the Drake's I don't know where I'd be. Probably in some mental hospital driven crazy by my mum and Josh or some delinquent school. Probably the white scar I had on my wrist would be more than just one...

I sighed. I wanted an answer to one question. _What the fuck was happening to me?_Yeah, I swore, that's just how messed up I was feeling. I used to tell Solange that the day I'd see Nick other than a jerk would be the day that hell broke loose. Solange had sighed, Nick had called me a bitch which is why his mother grounded him and Sol's brothers hadn't agreed with me, no, they actually said, "Oh, young Lucy, the day you stop calling him a jerk will be the day you two end up together." That day I was revolted at that, Nick attacked his brothers, which earned him another grounding. His face after their mother had pulled him away from Logan's face had been priceless. I chucked.

"What are you smiling about?" Nick asked me, yet I could see the lopsided grin forming on his lips. "Nothing. I was just remembering that time I said that the day I'd see you other than a jerk would be the day hell broke loose, and your brothers corrected me and said that it would be the day we started dating. Your face was priceless!" I said bursting out laughing. I went to sit next to him and I could feel the vibrations of laughter he sent across the bed. "I don't remember smiling about it though. I got grounded for two weeks." I don't know why but I stuck my tongue out at him.

"You little-" and he interrupted himself as he started a tickle war with me. Though it was a really bad idea in this dress, I didn't mind. I let my pumps fall to the ground and I started tickling him back. Somehow he always won, probably because of the speed. We had ended up, I outstretched on the bed and Nick sitting on me, his legs at each of my side, tickling my scarf covered neck. "Okay, I give!" I said breathlessly. "I thought so." he answered me, grinning. "So what's my reward?"

I thought about it, "Well, what would you want?" he smiled up at me.

"Close your eyes." and so I did. I felt his fingers trail all across my face. Until finally, his lips meet mine. It was a normal kiss, yet to me it meant the world.

"Lucy, I apologise for calling you a bitch." he said softly in my ear. I smiled at his confession.

"And I apologise for calling you a jerk... even though you are one."

"Hey!"

"Kidding!"

"You'd better be!" and with that he started tickling me again.

Just at that moment the door opened. My mum stood in the door, wearing her bride's dress. I looked at her with wide eyes. Then I realised how awkward and misleading the position Nick and I were in was. I quickly pushed him off me and tried to sit up straight. Nick's hair looked a little dishevelled and I didn't even want to look at the state that my hair was in. "Look, mum it's not what you think." I started. Weirdly enough she started... smiling.

"Josh, come see! Phil was wrong; your sister's not a lesbian!"

"MOM!" I groaned the moment Nick burst out laughing.

"I have no intention of watching my sister getting laid!" he said loud enough so that everybody in the whole damn neighbourhood could hear him.

My mom suddenly rushed over to us and hugged Nick, who remained speechless giving me a what-the-fuck look. "Thank you! You young man, have saved me a lot of pondering. I was thinking about getting her into therapy. She had never shown any sexual attraction to any boy before, so naturally I was beginning to worry..."

"Mum! Out of the room." I said before she gave him enough details to haunt me for the rest of my days.

She sighed. "See! Her behaviour is so misleading! Can I at least get to know your name?"

"Nicholas Drake" he answered politely as ever. My mums looked deep in thought. "Drake... where have I heard that name before?" I sighed. She was hopeless.

"Mum, he's Solange's brother."

"Oh, your best friend? You're dating your best friend's brother? Does she know about it?"

"That's it, mum. Out." And with that I made her leave the room and forced the door behind her.

I went in front of the mirror and surprisingly my hair survived. I brushed it and it appeared good as new. I had to say Sol was a genius.

Reluctantly, I turned to the direction Nick was. He was lying on my bed comfortably, the picture of ease. He had a grin that split his face in half.

When he was about to open his mouth, I interrupted him. "Don't you even dare!" I warned him. He chuckled and spoke anyways. "So, Lucy, I hear that you're sexually attracted to me?"

I sighed.

Oh God, this was going to be a long ass night!

XXX

**Hey Guys! This was really an early upload considering that I have exams in two weeks and thirteen subjects needing studying which I haven't started even one of them! But I got a pm from AussieGirl16 and she made me realise that I really left last chap in a cliffy so… you should thank her :D **

**Thanks again for ALL of your support! I'm happy you like the story! I really made en effort to update so please don't hesitate to review! C'mon…. you know you want to :P**


	7. Miss Badass

**A/N: Next chapter will have Nick's point of view too, as well as Lucy's! :D**

**Chapter 7**

**+Lucy+**

I twisted a lock of my hair between my fingers, feeling tense. Then place we were in was so not my scene. Snotty, rich people surrounded me and Nick, not to mention that my brother was here with that Stella bitch and that this was his third shot of tequila and the party had just started half an hour ago. "Stop fidgeting, you look great." Nick said.

"I wish that how I looked was the problem. God, this is stupid. I should have never come, let alone drag you with me. It's so boring here!"

"Yeah, to tell you the truth I suspect that that woman over there us either falling to sleep or about to die." he told me with a smile as he nodded discreetly towards an old lady trying to keep her eyes open. I chuckled lightly. It really was a funny sight.

"Come on," he said to me. Much to my surprise, he took my hand in his and directed us towards the dance floor. I giggled lightly. "Are you serious? They're playing a slow song." I said, though secretly I didn't mind dancing with him. Just feeling his arms around my waist would be enough. God, this was so not good. One night alone with him and I was already getting addicted to him. Maybe his vampire pheromones were working on me after all.

Stupid pheromones.

Stupid irresistible Nick.

"So, that doesn't mean we can't dance. Don't worry, I won't let your clumsy self fall and break your neck, Lucky." he said with a teasing grin. I grinned back.

"Ah, I was starting to get worried. Good to have you back, Nicky." I said and patted his back playfully. He turned around and hesitantly, as if he was considering his actions, he pulled out his hands. I took his hands in mine and put them softly on my waist. He smiled at me and in return put my arms around his neck. We swayed softly to the rhythm, our eyes never leaving each other's.

"So this is nice." I said to avoid the silence. "Yeah, it is. I don't think that we've ever spent this much time together without fighting." he said. I shook my head. "I don't think we've ever spent this much time together in the same room!" he cracked a smile.

"So..."

"So what?" I asked him.

"Tell me a little bit about yourself." I laughed out loud.

"What do you want to know about me that you don't already know?"

"What size bra do you wear?" he asked me teasingly. My cheeks reddened instantly. "Nick!" I hissed at him as I punched his arm.

He chuckled at my reaction. "Kidding. Um... So let's see... okay. Why haven't you redecorated your room? No offence but it looks like a freaking doll house." I chuckled. Yeah, the pink walls, toy tea set and sea of soft toys in my room did leave one a little freaked. "Well, truth be told, I didn't have the time. My dad disappeared when I had just celebrated my tenth birthday. After that, well, you know how things are now. My room is the least of my worries." I answered solemnly.

"Oh." was all he said. The cheerful mood we were in had suddenly turned chilly. I frowned as I didn't want our talk to take this rough turn.

"I answered your question now it's only fair that you answer one of mine." I smiled to lighten mood. Nick grinned back. "Ask away."

I racked my mind for a question. "Okay, so are you in a relationship and if not describe your crush." I bit my tongue. Yeah, Lucy, way to seem cool and uncaring.

"And why would you want to know about that?" well, now that I asked him, might as well get over with it.

"It's my turn. You can ask me later."

"I'm not in a relationship, but I do have a crush. She has chocolate brown eyes. Those kind of eyes that seem as if they're always smiling. And she's got this teasing smile that makes me smile just by looking at her. She has brown hair, she's slim."

I grimaced. Who was he crushing on? A freaking supermodel? "It's Megan Fox, isn't it?"

"No! Megan was cool and hot at first but then she go those lips implants and she looks as if she's made of plastic. The girl I like is much more real than that." Okay, so I knew one thing for sure. I'd rather know that he was crushing on Megan Fox, cause then I'd know that the chances of seeing him with her were much slimmer than seeing him with some lucky girl who looked like freaking Megan Fox!

God! I needed to calm down.

"Lucy? Lucy, I've asked you a question." I heard Nick inform me.

I admit that I hadn't paid attention to a single thing he said. "I'm sorry, what?"

He surprised me; as I'd never bought he's ask that question. "Describe me your first boyfriend."

"Pass."

"No fair! There's no passes. Answer the question." I glared at him. That was a question I truly dreaded and didn't want to answer.

"His name was Jules Crawford. It was during freshman year two years ago. He lost a bet with my brother so to make a fool out of him, Josh told him to make me fall for him and just as we would be about to kiss, he'd tell me that it was just a bet." I muttered lowly. I looked down in embarrassment.

"Lucy." I still didn't answer. He made me look up.

"Stop giving me reasons to murder your brother please." I smiled at his expression. He looked so protective over me I couldn't help but feel happy. "But anyway, Jules or whatever he was called was a fool. He'd be lucky to get a girl like you." My smile automatically broadened at his words.

"A girl like what?"

"Well, you've looked at the mirror. You know how you look." He mumbled as a pale pink tint covered his cheeks.

"No, I think I forgot. How do I look to you? That's my question. Answer it." I said with a smirk. "And be honest."

He looked down in embarrassment. "Uh-uh. Look in my eyes when you talk. He sighed and looked up. "Fine. You look really hot."

"Really?" I asked goofily. Apparently my voice made him crack up enough to get back his cockiness.

"You underestimate yourself. You're a beautiful girl. Any man would be lucky to have you." somehow we had gotten closer together, to a point where our stomachs were pressed together. His finger was tracing circles on the small of my back, making my body quiver under his touch, while my fingers played with the short black locks of hair at the back of his head. We closed in on those few inches separating our lips but just as we were about to kiss I felt someone tap on my shoulder. I turned around and found Josh standing in front of me.

"Can I talk to you?" he asked me, yet he wasn't looking at me, he was looking at Nick as if to challenge him.

"Seriously? Now? We were kind of in the middle of something." I pointed out. He smiled cockily at me.

"Come on, Lucy. It's always the time to talk to my favourite sister."

"I'm your only sister, you idiot." I sighed and snuck a glance at Nick who was getting deadlier by the second. "Nick, I'll be back in sec, 'kay?"

He nodded reluctantly and stepped in front of me and eyeballed Josh. "Hurt her and you're dead." he whispered, barely loud enough for me to hear.

Josh snorted in his face. "You funny rich boys think you're so strong, don't you? You act like you can own everybody." I pulled Josh by the arm. "You're not going to start a fight during mum's wedding, Josh." I gave Nick a look that said that we were going to chat later. Just as Josh and I were making our way further across the half empty dance floor, I saw Stella, my brother's date, making her way towards a very tense Nick. I gritted my teeth together. If that bitch tried to fuck around with my man I would make sure to personally snap every bone in her skinny booty. The insolent little-

Oh my holy cheesecakes. Did I just call Nick mine? Nick was my nothing except for my pain in the ass. Oh God, this was not good. I could deny it all I wanted but I was falling for him. I bit my lip, knowing that my emotions for Nick could only cause me heart ache. I was way out of his league and I knew it. Compared to him I was well... plain. Not to mention that I came from a horrible family background while he had a prosperous family.

But the biggest downer of all was the fact that he was a vampire, which not only threw me on different leagues but also in complete different species. That fact never bothered me before, in fact it still doesn't but having to date a vampire and having to deal with his bloodlust continuously could be really hard. Hell, even kissing him would be impossible. Proof enough were the multiple hickeys on my skin.

And now that I brought it up, why exactly did we kiss? It was like a freaking Rubic's cube. Once you mess it up, it's almost impossible to figure it out.

Josh's voice snapped me out of la-la land "Lucy? Lucy, have you gone deaf now?"

"No, of course not. What are you talking about?" I asked, clueless as he awkwardly put his arms around me so that we could 'dance', and I use the term loosely. We were barely swaying just moving awkwardly so that we wouldn't stay uselessly immobile in the middle of the dance floor.

"Nothing. So I found us an apartment downtown. It's small but I think we'll pull it off. There's just one bathroom but that's not much of a problem, there are two bedrooms, small but still, a kitchenette and a small living room next to it." he said sounding excited. I grimaced at him. I hadn't accepted yet and honestly, I needed more time.

"Hold your horses, Josh. I haven't agreed yet."

He rolled his eyes at me. "Well, stop your bitching and agree already. After this week, Mum and Phil will be at home sucking their faces off and I seriously don't want to be within hearing proximity of them." I shuddered, remembering the one time when Mum and Phil were celebrating his birthday and the sounds they made me literally hurl. Josh and I had to sleep in the basement to get some rest from their sounds. They were so freaking loud I think even the neighbours heard them.

"Me too, but I don't know, Josh. Frankly, I don't trust you. Just a couple of days ago you almost gave me a concussion."

"Did I say that I was sorry?" he asked me, giving me the fakest smile since the last Colgate advert. I looked at him bleakly.

"No, you didn't; you never do."

"Well I am."

I fumed. "Sorry isn't enough Josh. You're messed up in the head and because of you and mum so am I. This situation is all so fucked up."

"I know. That's why I want to get away from mum. She's the one who brought all this on us. If you want to blame someone for your fucked up life, blame her, not me."

I laughed dryly. "You are the reason why I'm on the verge of getting expelled at school. You were the one who made it your mission to make my already shitty high school life hell."

"And I'm extremely sorry about that. Let me make it up to you. If you come to live with me and I'll prove it to you. Tonight you need to pack; I already told the landlord that we'll move in first thing tomorrow. Come on, I'll take Stella home and you get that rich brat to drive you to mum's house." he said hastily. I fought my way out of his grip. "You're not the fucking boss of me. I haven't decided yet. Solange asked me to move in with her, and quite frankly, her offer is a thousand times better than yours so I strongly suggest you fuck off before I completely decide to ignore your offer." I hissed at him. His hand found its way around my wrist.

"You're gonna let that rich bitch come before your own flesh and blood." he hissed back quite venomously. At his words my hand automatically elongated and slapped him hard across the face.

"Yes, I am cause the girl you just called a rich bitch kept me from becoming completely insane," and with that I made my way towards Nick, ignoring the stares and whisperers around me. I walked confidently, my anger fuelling me like a fire which had just been given more wood.

Stella was all but literally rubbing herself across an annoyed Nick, which made my anger level soar. Nobody touched Nick like that. Nobody.

"Hey Stella, the bitch patrol called, they want their Head Bitch back." I said as I grabbed her by the arm and shoved her roughly away from Nick.

"Um, who do you think you are?" she said in her annoying nasal voice.

"The girl who's gonna enjoy stepping on your nose job if you don't get out of my face." I said using a sickly sweet voice.

"You're a psychopath!" she said as she backed away, gripping her nose in fear.

"Oh, you have no idea." I answered nonchalantly. The whole time, Nick had been observing me. He smirked at me. "Lucy, though you'll never even get remotely close to winning a peace prize, I admit that I really like your badass attitude." I grinned at him. "Great but don't tell Sol. She'd just give me a lecture about why threatening people with violence is wrong." that got him laughing loudly, which sounded like ripples of water to me.

"What are you laughing about?"

He looked up at me and the look he gave me made my heart skip a beat. His grey eyes lit up and he looked really happy.

"Well, in many ways you would be more suited to become a vampire rather than my sister. You've got this wild fire in you that my sister lacks."

"Well, be careful because you just might get burned." I purred. He smirked at me. "I wouldn't mind getting burned by you." he whispered, his velvety voice had become so low and seductive that I feared I might pee myself.

Then realisation hit me. We were flirting with each other! I felt completely frigid as he wrapped his arms around me once more. I wanted to indulge myself in his once more, but this was, well, this was wrong. He had never shown this much interest in me and suddenly my mum's wedding changes all that.

Maybe my mum should get married more often.

His lips didn't touch mine but travelled next to my ear. "Perhaps we should go, what do you think?" he half asked, half begged me. I nodded without a doubt. I scanned over the crowd and my brother was nowhere to be found. My mother was drinking with an elite group of hags and obviously didn't need me anymore. I nodded again so he took my hand in his and led me outside towards the parking lot.

A/N:

Hope you enjoyed the update. I know that this was slow but that was just what I needed to get you prepared for the next chapter which will be action packed like hell!

So if I may ask you this question, hypothetically speaking:

How would you guys feel if Lucy became a vampire in this book?

I have to do some research and reread the book cause I read it about a year ago and I forgot most of it. So if I plan that someone should turn I have absolutely no idea how Harvey wrote it in her book

Thank you for reading and don't forget to review… you know you want to :P


	8. Wicked Chase

Hey Guys! Thanks for all your kind comments and support :D I know that I promised a part of the chap in Nick's POV but I wanted to upload asap too so I left the Nick's POV out, but I promise you that it will be in the next chapter next chapter (which will be uploaded next week :D )

Anyways, enjoy you're going to have a hell of a surprise :D

**Chapter 8**

**+ + + Lucy + + +**

I heard something I hadn't heard come out of both of our mouths in a long time. Care free laughter. We laughed as we escaped from that god awful building and made our way to his car.

"Wait, allow me," he said as I was going to open the car door. I giggled like a mindless little girl and allowed him to open my door for me. Just as I was going to get inside the car, I felt his hands find themselves entangled in my hair and his lips crashed to mine. I responded with as much force as I had in me. "So, where do you want to go?" he asked me, his lips a few breaths away. My eyes widened. "Wait, so is this like, a date?"

"Yup, I want to know what it feels like to be able to have you. The spell will break after this night." he said, managing to confuse me completely.

"What do you mean?" I asked him with a smile. His eyes looked away from mine as a pale, pink tint covered his cheeks.

"I don't know if you noticed, but I like you, Lucy, but because of what I am, we'll never be able to be together. After tonight, we'll go back to the way things are supposed to be. You'll go back to being my sister's annoying best friend and I'll go back to being the over-protective 'stalker'." his eyes never met mine. By now my heart was honestly fluttering. He liked me. Nick Drake liked me!

I cupped his face and this time I was the one making him look up. "Hey," my eyes met his briefly but it was enough to hold them there. "You know that I've never had a problem with you being what you are. I mean if both of us really want this we'll find a way. We'll take baby steps; we don't have to jump to the big stuff. I'm not even ready for the big stuff. We'll see where this evening takes us and we'll decided if we want to give a chance to this or not." I rambled. Nick smiled at me. "I guess we can do that. So where do you want to go?"

"Well, judging from the rumbling in my stomach, can we go to the McDonald's drive through? I'm starving. Those appetisers where yummy but barely satisfying. I haven't eaten all day."

Nick laughed. "Alright. Let's go feed that beast before it attacks and threatens to eat everybody." He said as he helped me settle myself in his extremely uncomfortable car and sat in the drivers seat." I snorted.

"Please. I don't eat that much. And please don't go too fast." I begged him. He chucked. "Whatever you say." he said as he sped away, not even giving me the time to buckle my seatbelt. He laughed as I yelped.

"What's up with you and this fear of speeds?" he asked me. I bit my lip.

"I don't really know. I just feel as if I'm going to dart through the dashboard." he shook his head. "You really are one of a kind. Usually girls love sports cars. Wait, I know." he pressed a button and the roof slid down. "Look up, the view may help." he suggested. I nodded and did as he said. The view of the night sky greeted me. Thousands of little white lights were spread across the sky, framing a full moon. The view was truly staggering. It calmed me and allowed me to breath calmly once more.

"Feel better?" he asked me. I nodded in response. I put my hand over his which was on the gear. He smiled in return so I grasped it tighter.

We spent a few minutes in blissful silence, just enjoying each other's company. After a while, McDonald's trademark golden arches came into view. "So, what would the lady like to eat?" he asked. "I'd like a medium BigMac meal with diet coke." I said to him.

"Why diet? You don't need it."he said as he glanced at my waist. I grinned. What a flatterer. "I prefer the diet. The normal one is just too sugary, it makes me even thirstier." he ordered my meal and once he paid - he refused that I pay for my meal - he gave me the bag. I got out the burger and took a mean bite out of it.

"Someone's hungry alright." he grinned at me. I grinned back and threw a fry at his face.

"Not in the car, Lucy or you'll have to clean it up." he warned me. I stuck out my tongue at him and threw another fry in his way.

"You little-" and with that we started a tickle war. My poor burger, or what was left it was put aside and we made a mess of his car.

"Okay, I give up. I won't throw another fry in this car for as long as I live." he smirked victoriously, but then realised that is car was already pelted with fries.

"Guess I was wrong. I win." I smirked at him. He cursed and threw a fry off the seat an into my hair. I glared at him and tried to search for the damn fry in the sea of braids that Sol had made in my hair.

"That wasn't nice of you." I accused. He grinned. "When have I ever said that I was nice?" I glared again.

"I hate you." I said to him. Still grinning, he shook his head. "No you don't. You love me. Admit it."

"Never!" I filled my mouth with all what was left of the burger and chewed with all my might. He started tickling me once more and I almost spit out the disgusting chewed up material in my mouth. I swallowed painfully and attempted to stop his hands from tickling me.

"You're lucky I didn't spit all over you." I said as I took a gulp of my drink.

"You wouldn't dare. Now let's go home. You have school tomorrow." he said. I groaned but then I noticed that he was going the wrong way. My house was the other way.

"Where are you going?"

"Um... Home." he said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"Yeah, but you need to drop me off at my house, if it's no problem, of course."

"You're moving in with us, Sol can lend you something for tomorrow. You don't need to go to your house tonight." I stared at him. "Wait. I never said I was moving in. I want to decide myself. Take me to my house, please." I said, little bit annoyed at him.

"You're kidding, right? After all your brother said to you and the martyr he made you go through, you still insist on giving him a second chance which he will obviously screw up?" He asked me, his nostrils flaring. I glared at him.

"What I do is none of your business. Had it been one of your brothers wouldn't you have given him a second chance?"

"Not when he batters you in bruises! What if the next time he losses control he injures you severely?" he pleaded with me.

"I just want to give him a second chance. Why is it so wrong that you won't accept it? I don't want to fight but you can't take my decisions for me."

"I can and I will when your decisions are stupid. I care for you; I don't want to see you get hurt."

"Well then I'd rather that you care less if you're going to act like a high handed ass." I responded furiously. His hands gripped the steering wheel tightly.

"Do you know what your problem is, Lucy? Your huge damned pride. Why won't you accept our help when we really want to give it to you." he asked me, despair now thick in his voice.

"Because I'm not some helpless little girl anymore. I'm not a damsel in distress and I certainly don't want some stupid prince to save me. I'm a big girl and I can fight my damn battles alone. Now take me to my house!" I told him, hating the fact that he was the one driving. He looked away from me, his eyes returning to the road ahead of him. I was pissed at him. He had no right to decide for me like that.

We spend an uncomfortable ten minutes in perfect silence, the only sounds being those of the car till we arrived at my house. No one dared to talk. As the realisation hit me that because of our dispute, the wonderful moments we spent having fun in each other's company would be just a memory of the past.

Well, maybe it was for the best. If there was only mere attraction to each other maybe we were never meant to be in the first place. Lucy and Nick, Nick and Lucy, even our names sounded wrong together, kinda. Yeah, I would keep saying that till it stuck in my head.

"We're here." He-who-shall-not-be-named said coldly. I grabbed my little black purse and darted out of the car. I slammed the door behind me and ran up to my door. I heard Nick's car speed away, and that was when I let the tears fall freely. I fumbled in my black purse for the keys and opened the stiff door. I instantly went in the kitchen and poured myself a glass of water. Nick didn't desire my tears, no one did, not even my father.

I heard heavy footsteps climbing down the stairs. I knew that it was Josh, and I didn't want to give him the satisfaction of seeing me cry. I looked down and away from him.

That's when I felt a strong hand come in contact with my skin. It stung painfully. I looked up and to my horror, Josh was there with an empty bottle of vodka in his hand.

"I saw you bitch!" he yelled at the top of his lungs. "W-what are you talking about Josh? You're drunk as fuc-" he tried to hit me again but this time I was quicker and slid away from him, using the kitchen stools as shields. "I saw you suck his face off, you dirty little whore." he shouted once more. I grabbed a stool to protect myself. If I managed to make it up the stairs to my room and lock myself there, I would probably have to chance to escape in the middle of the night when he passed out with a hangover.

The alcohol in his system didn't decrease his strength, if not, it tripled it. He easily pulled the stool from my hands and caught me by my hair, painfully pulling at it. He grabbed the scarf and tightened it around my neck, and slammed my body painfully against the fridge's door. This was not going to end well. He was suffocating me with my own scarf so I tried to pry it off before he strangled me. After several tried I succeeded, almost falling to my knocks as I greedily inhaled as much oxygen as my lungs could manage.

I heard him gasp. Oh God, the love bites! "You little sneaky bitch, all this time I thought you where some pathetic virgin. You let him do this kinky shit to you! Have you no shame! Imagine what dad would think of you, you dirty prostitute! Letting that rich mother fu-" his hands went around my neck and started the strangle me.

"Josh, please! I swear I'm a virgin." I croaked out, my voice barely audible. Tears streamed down my face like a never ending river.

He was right. He had warned me, yet I had chosen my brother over him and my best friend. A mistake I'd never do again. An unforgivable decision.

He looked thoughtful for a moment. "Just to be sure." he muttered to himself as his hands started making their way beneath my dress. That's when I started to panic. How drunk was he?

"Please stop, I swear I'm a virgin. Please Josh don't. You'll regret it." I pleaded. I yelped as I felt his finger close to my entrance. I grabbed his empty vodka bottle and hit him in the head with it. He had crossed a line, and drunk or not he still had no right to do such a thing. I managed to get him away from me for a few precious seconds. I hastily grabbed my phone and swallowing down my pride, I phoned Nick. The phone rings synched with my heartbeat and with every ring, my heart ached. Nick, please pick up, I pleaded silently. The phone went in voicemail, much to my horror. An estranged sound escaped my mouth. Josh was a hopeless drunk, but never had he ever tried to touch me. He was seriously wasted.

I lost no time and made my way to my room. Outside was not an option. I had no car and thus no way of escape. As I hurried up the stairs I called Nick once more. That's when I felt someone grip my ankle. I fell and almost hit my face had I not been quick enough to shield myself with my hands. I screamed when I saw a knife in his hands. "Touch me again, bitch and you're dead!" he shouted. I kicked and screamed at him till I thankfully landed a blow on his chin. I darted to my room, but during my hast escape, my phone fell down the stairs. There was no time to retrieve it so I went straight to my room. I whimpered as I searched everywhere for the key. I heard sounds downstairs so I frantically started moving all that I could find to barricade the door. I did not have enough time and I knew that it was a mistake on my part, thinking that I would be able to block Josh.

Josh burst through the door. "Please, Josh! I'll agree to come live with you. I'll even pay the rent all by myself and cook and clean but just put that knife down." I begged him, trying to stop him from doing something we'd both regret.

"I wouldn't want to live with you anyways. You're a stupid whore, just like that bitch of our mother."

Things happened to fast for me to process them. I backed down against the door and he lunged at me.

I felt an odd sensation in my stomach. For a short moment, I was too bewildered to react. My heart ticked and with each beat of my heart, I felt something vibrate in my stomach. I looked down to find a handle of a knife, clearly visible sticking out of my stomach. I looked up at Josh who mirrored the same look of horror as I did. That's when what happened caught up to me. A terrible, screeching scream tore from throat as a burning sensation ripped through my midriff. I fell to my knees and screamed causing the knife to shift within me. More shrieks followed.

"I'm so sorry, Lucy. I didn't mean to." he said anxiously. I turned away from him.

"Drive me to the hospital, quick." I whispered through groans of pain.

"No, the police will ask questions. Let me see!" he said. I turned away and tried to shove his arms away, yet I was too weak. He lifted me up against my will and placed me on the bed. I bit my lip in an attempt to distract myself from the huge pain dominating the centre of my body.

"Please, Josh. Take me to the hospital. I'll die if not." I said, coming to terms with the horrible truth.

"No! I'll just pull it out. It's not that deep, it will heal." he said helplessly. I was about to start screaming at him to get away. If I have ever learned something from all the CSI shows I've seen it's that if you pull the knife out, you'll bleed to death.

The feeling of the metal sliding out of my stomach is not something I'll ever want to feel again. It feels as if someone has knocked the breath out of you. I screamed, my throat going sore. Weakly, I put my hand to my stomach and saw a red substance covering my fingers. At the sight of the blood I screamed again. My hair stuck to my forehead with sweat. My saliva started tasting metallic, the taste of blood and my eyes started losing to the conquering darkness.

"LUCY!" I heard a voice shout. To me it sounded like the voice of an angel, too good to be true.

It sounded like Nick's voice and he sounded pissed. Really pissed.

**Will she make it? What will happen to Josh? What will Nick do? **

**What do you guys think that will happen? Well, you'll find out next week but in the mean time review and tell me 3 The more crazy ideas I get the more I'll need to upload earlier to prevent insomnia :P**

**Until the next time, my vampire lovelies :D**


	9. Bleed

Hey, guys! Could it be? Is it possible? YES! An EARLY UPLOAD! It was only fair considering the terrible cliffy. I made an extra effort to upload earlier and put you out of your misery! (AAWWHHH! :3)

So, Enjoy:

**Chapter 9**

**+ + + Nick + + + **

I was driving at least twenty miles over the speed limit. I was infuriated.

How? How could she be so gullible, so naïve? I warned her about her brother, yet she, being the stubborn bitch she is, ignored me and worse, got offended. What could I do? It's not like I could force her to come home with me. She'd probably jump out of the car rather than be dragged against her will. Well, if she wanted to be stubborn, two could play at that game. She's not my responsibility- I shouldn't feel worried or guilty.

Her number flashed across the screen of my phone, again. What did she want now? I was in too much of a foul mood to talk to her so I didn't answer.

But considering it again, Lucy was too proud to call to apologise. She wouldn't even do it if she was in knee deep trouble. Ironically enough, I had to admit that she reminded me of yours truly from that aspect. We were both too stubborn for our own good, sometimes too annoyingly sarcastic and proud. I smiled cynically at the thought.

Yet I can't deny that though our 'date' hadn't ended so well, I had fun. Though we made a mess in my car - which I fully intend on making her clean up.

I remember the way she smiled shyly at me in that beautiful dress of hers, which accompanied by her blush, made her look ravishing and made her delicious blood sing out to me. I had never wanted to sink my fangs in her delicate throat as much as I did tonight. That was why I could never have her. Even if we ever find a way to tolerate each other, her blood would always haunt me. I couldn't put her life constantly in risk like that. It was immoral.

I sighed and bit back my resentment and answered the phone. I heard someone breath heavily. What the fu-

That's when I heard a scream, a scream that belonged to Lucy.

"Touch me again, bitch and you're dead!" I heard Josh's murderous voice shout. That moment my blood turned into poison and I felt deadly venom course through me. I start sewing red and I had only one thing on my mind.

Lucy's safety.

I did a 180 spin that all Fast and Furious fans would die for and stepped on the gas pedal. If my speed had been fast, now I bet that my car was a blur. I was about five minutes away now, but I with the speed I was going I could make it in three minutes. I just hoped it wouldn't be too late.

Three minutes. They may seem like nothing, but so much can happen in three minutes. My mind ran over a thousand different scenarios, could Lucy be injured, was he beating her up right now? My hands tightened around the steering wheel at the thought of that steroid addicted, weed dependent delinquent.

After the raw anger, guilt followed. Had I answered the phone earlier maybe Lucy's pain might have been avoided. I had been wrong. She was my responsibility just as much as Sol was. Sol was my sister, but Lucy was my... Well, I still had to figure out what she was to me, but I felt the need to protect her. I felt my stomach churn once I turned around the corner to Lucy's house.

The scent of thick, mouth watering blood was prominent. It only meant one thing, someone was bleeding heavily. For a moment, I prayed that the blood belonged to Josh, or one of the neighbours, but the scent of the substance denied it. I knew that pure, beautiful scent that made me mad from the first moments I turned belonged to one girl. A girl that was screaming too loudly.

"LUCY!"

I parked the car and bolted right out of my car, not even bothering to close the car door. I heard a screeching scream, the type that hurt my sensitive eardrums badly but I didn't care. It sounded like someone who was in extreme pain. Using my vampire strength and speed, I burst through the door, breaking off the lock and ran up the stairs. I found the twins in Lucy's room. Lucy was trying to scream, but the sight of the blood on her fingers had her stunned. I grabbed a stuttering Josh by the neck and slammed him against the wall.

"What did you do to her?" I all but screamed in his face. It pained me to look at Lucy, even more because of the delicious scent that hung around her. It teased me and called to me like a siren's melody. It took all my restraint not to sink my teeth in the source of the substance.

"I- I... she fell, and I-I was holding a knife and she fell and..." through his blabbing, he showed me the bloody knife. My eyes widened as I examined the scene before me. Lucy was holding her stomach, which meant that that's where he stabbed her, but he pulled out the knife...

"Why did you pull out the knife? Did you want to kill your sister you idiotic motherfu-" I stopped mid curse, as Lucy started coughing. I would deal with this moron afterwards.

"Out! Get out of my fucking way and if I see you anywhere near this room I'll skin you alive." I shouted threateningly. Josh nodded hastily and retreated away. I turned my attention to the injured girl.

Lucy was lying on the bed, her baby pink covers now stained with her own blood as she tried to apply pressure to the wound. She was sobbing as quietly as possible, but the tears were running down her pale white cheeks freely. "Oh, Lucy... this is entirely myfault. I should have never let you come back here." I said, begging that my voice wouldn't crack. I felt my eyes go moist but I fought the tears away, I needed to be strong, for her.

"You were right. Tell Sol that I'm sorry." she sobbed in a broken voice. "I don't want to die Nick. I really don't." she cried.

"You won't baby. I'll make sure of that." I said, though now as she lost more blood, chances were she wouldn't make it. I couldn't let her die. I just couldn't. I removed the blanket from around her and using a Swiss army knife that I always carried around me, I ripped off the crimson red dress. The blood had seeped in the dress, but it wasn't visible and blended well because of the same red colour. I felt my own cheeks go slightly pink, as I examined Lucy's body, who by now was just wearing a black strapless bra that made her boobs pop and a pair of lacy panties. Lucy didn't seem to notice that I had removed her dress, since she was probably trying to fight off the pain.

I panicked a little as I examined the wound. It was deep, and looked quite severe. I needed her to heal; there was no time for hospitals so I did the only thing that I knew that could help her to a certain extent.

I swiped the sharp blade across my palm, and cupped my hand so that I could gather my blood. The feeling of the blade against my skin made me flinch slightly, but if this had the chance to save, Lucy, I didn't mind.

I tilted her head so that she could be able to drink easier and put the blood to her mouth. At first she started spitting it out.

"Drink it, dammit!" I ordered. At my harsh tone, she started lapping up at the blood, at first slowly, but after a few gulps she started demanding for more and running her hot tongue over the cut. The feeling of that made certain parts of me harden. My control was slipping and I knew it so I removed my hand. But I knew that those few drops of blood wouldn't be enough. I inhaled the air and at the scent of her life support, my fangs elongated. Hesitantly, I bit down on my own wrist. It felt strange, doing such a thing as I had never given my blood to anyone. I let a few drops drop inside the wound, which at the touch of the blood instantly started healing. I could actually see the skin repair itself as I looked. I made her drink a few more gulps and after that she seemed to have slipped in a peaceful sleep, yet she looked uncomfortable, as if she was having trouble breathing. I stared at the black bra for a moment.

If I removed it and she woke up, the awkwardness of the moment might be extreme, but on the other hand, desperate times called for desperate measures. I searched all around the room and found a black tank top. I put it over her chest and looked away as I tried to unhook the bra hook. After several attempts, I managed. I looked at my hands, which were covered in a mixture of her blood and mine. Then I noticed that her stomach was covered in blood and that if I didn't do something, there would surly be an ugly scar after she healed. Hesitantly, I lowered my head to be directly in front of the wound. I unbuttoned one of the buttons of my shirt. I felt so tense that even the loose shirt felt as if it might suffocate me.

I had dreamed of this moment, when I got to taste Lucy's blood. This was purely to help her, but I couldn't help but feel excited as my lips hovered all over her stomach. That's when I made my move and as delicately as possible, licked the wound. The taste was maddening. It teased my taste buds, like the finest of wines.

There were coagulants in my saliva that would help her skin to heal faster and smoothly heard her moan as my tongue slid across her skin."Nick..." she breathed out, sounding as if she was lost deeply in her dreams. Her hand searched for mine so I let her search no farther and grasped it. She smiled, almost peacefully.

"I'm right here, Lucy. Don't let go." I whispered at her. Her pale face was thankfully regaining some of the lost colour. I continued licking across the wound, cleaning it and ridding it of any infection. Lucy slipped in a deep slumber. She wasn't even aware of what was happening. I looked at her as she lay still on the bad.

She was so fucking beautiful. I stared at her plum lips, just begging for me to cover them with mine.

God, how could I let myself fall for Lucy? Of all the people in the world, how could I damn her with the constant danger a relationship with me would entitle? And she admitted it herself, that she wanted to progress in her relationship with me. Oh God, what have I done?

I removed all thoughts from my mind and tried to focus just on her. Her heartbeat was still constant. She was still alive, but had I arrived a minute late she would not have survived. She stirred then, I turned to her, expecting her to wake up and shout at me for removing her clothes then hastily thank me for saving her live afterwards, it was what she would do, I was sure of it. But she never did.

To my horror, her heartbeat slowed down, significantly. But she couldn't die, she just couldn't. Then it drawled on me, what I had done. In my hasty actions to save her life  
>I had forgotten one crucial thing that jeopardised completely my attempt in saving her. Lucy has lost so much blood, too much. Her covers where more crimson than pink. Almost as I she drained and I had given her my blood. That was the procedure for turning humans into vampires. Could it be... was Lucy turning into a...<p>

"Oh, no! No, no, no, no! This can't be! Please let it not be how I think it is." I pleaded to myself. With hands shaking I grabbed my phone from my pocket. I phoned Sebastian, my brother; hopefully he'd know what was happening to Lucy.

"Nick? Sebastian told me you were out with Lucy? It's almost three in the morning; we were seriously starting to consider that you two hooked up and-"

"Sebastian! It's no time for jokes. Lucy's brother stabbed her with a knife in her stomach. I arrived too late and he had already pulled it out. I gave her some blood to heal but and it stopped the pain but now her heartbeat's slowing down."

"It's not funny if you're messing with me, Nick." he told me sternly. "Do you think that I'm fucking kidding you about something like this?" I shouted into the phone. "What do I do? Is she... is she going through the change?" I whispered lowly.

"Is her heartbeat similar to ours?"

I listened closely. "No, not that slow, but not fast enough for a human."

"Well, bring her here, maybe she needs a transfusion of blood. Do you want me to come help you out?" he said worriedly.

"No but... I had to um... I had to remove her clothes to be able to heal her, so she's just in her um... panties." I said, nearly audible enough to be heard on the phone. I heard uncontrollable laughter over the phone.

"Don't just laugh there like a dipshit! Tell me what to do!" I hissed. "Sorry, but it's kind of ironic. We all know that you stalk Sol's bathroom when Lucy showers, in hopes of seeing something."

"Dude, fuck you, you're no help at all... and I don't do that!" I said and hung up the phone. Now this was quite the pickle. After several thinking, I abandoned the hopes of putting her bra back on, she'd have to settle for a shirt. I hunted down a shirt in her chest of drawers and delicately, as if she was made of porcelain, I lifted her arms without making the top which was covering her chest area fall and put her arms through the holes. I lifted her head and did the same. I found a pair of short shorts she probably used indoors and slipped them on her easily. I picked her up bridal style, trying not to shift her body as much as possible and exited the room. I went down the stairs and found Josh passed out on the couch with an empty bottle of Jack Daniels on his lap. What a waste of human life. I exited the house and got in the car.

XXX

"So what do you think?" I asked my brothers who were surrounded around Lucy. Solange had fallen asleep, so she knew noting of this ordeal, or I bet that she'd go agape shit, get in the car and go murder Josh with his sister's bloody knife. She may be calm and poised, but when it came to Lucy and her family, she was as dangerous as a hungry tiger. For now, we were all smart enough not to wake her up.

"Well, I've never seen anything like it. It's like you tried to turn her but failed. She hadn't lost enough blood, she still had some I her system, and you gave her quite a substantial amount of blood.

"Okay, but was it enough to turn her or is she still human?" I asked, getting irritated that no one would get to the point. After I had explained to them how Lucy got stabbed and what I did, everybody seemed clueless. Nobody in the house had ever turned a human into a vampire except for dad.

"I don't know, Nick. Be patient. At least we know that she's not dying and that she isn't in pain. That's the most important thing. I'm trying to find something, but it's in Latin and it takes a little bit time to translate." Will answered me, his nose buried in some old book.

I bit my lip. I needed to know that she was okay. I just did. Dawn was approaching and needless to say I was starting to feel exhausted, especially since I had been turned for only a year.

But that didn't matter, she did. And I swear if anything happened to her because Josh stabbed her, I wouldn't rest till he's dead.

XXX

Thanks for your support! I can't believe I'm already up to 43 reviews! If I hit 50 I might just explode :D SO please don't hesitate to do so! The more reviews I get the more I know that you guys like this story so I'd update more often… come on… you know you want to :P

Until the next time, my lovelies :3


	10. He was Right

***Hey guys! It is a little bit late, I know but I had a really messed up week. Luckily I'm getting my laptop tomorrow so updates will be more fluent! I will update sometime before one week : ) This chap is just a filler so don't worry, the action will come soon.

***Thanks for all your support! I reached 52 reviews *does weird air guitar movements* I love you guys! Would it be too much if I asked if you could reach 60 for me? Thank you :)

***And last but certainly the most important, I just discovered about Kony 2012, if you don't know what it is look it up on YouTube and spread the word! It's for a very good cause. These children need our help so we should all give what we can :)  
><strong><br>Chapter 10  
>+ Nick +<strong>

I stared at the blasted alarm clock for the nth time. Eight o'clock. I had been lying still on my bed for the past three hours. I breathed in deeply. Okay, let's try this again. One sheep, two sheep, Lucy, three sheep, Lucy, four she- yeah this wasn't really helping at all. Sleep was not going to be an option today. I sat upright on the bed and ran my hand through the mess of black hair on top my head.

I looked to my left, where the reason why the sandman wouldn't come to me tonight laid.

Lucy was laying still on the other side of the large king sized bed in my room. Why she was in my room in my bed, you ask? Well, after many innuendoes from my brothers, we still had to admit that the safest place to hide Lucy would be in my room because it was probably the last place where Sol would look for her.

She hadn't moved a muscle since I had brought her home, but she didn't look pained or uncomfortable, just lost deeply in her dreams. She really did look like a little angel, with her curly brown hair sprawled across the pillow like a halo, and the fact that she wasn't spewing sarcasm helped too. But Lucy without her sarcastic retorts and short temper wouldn't be Lucy.

Trying not to shift as much as possible, I slid closer to her side of the bed. With just one finger I traced her lips, enjoying the warmth that emanated from her skin. God, she smelled so good. Was it so wrong that all I wanted right now was to lull myself to sleep with her in my arms? I knew that I've always had a little soft stop for Lucy, but being the dick I am, instead of making her feel comfortable around me I manage to turn every conversation we have into a World War. But during the past three days, something which I cannot cute explain happened. It's like I lost all control over my emotions. All I could think about was her. This was so not good. I had it bad for my sister's best friend. Of all people, her. I darted off the bed, hating the fact that I felt cold when I broke my contact with her skin. I exited u to the corridor, wincing as an open window bathed everywhere in sunshine. I hurried across the corridor and down the stairs, rubbing my eyes and running my hand through my dishevelled hair. I really needed to wash it and get all residues of the stupid gel that Logan made me use.

But first, I needed blood. I went inside the kitchen and pulled out a hospital blood bag. Moving almost robotically, I slit the bag open with a knife and poured the gooey red liquid inside a mug. I shook the glass around as if the hood was a fine wine and smelt it. I almost gagged. Fine wine my ass. This smelt like shit compared to the blood that I had licked off Lucy's stomach wound. Lucy's blood had been like the sweetest nectar, like all the most scrumptious things in the world. This blood... well let's say that comparing it to Lucy's would be like comparing broccoli to ice-cream. Okay, I really, really needed to get my mind off Lucy. With my mouth in a tight straight line, I put the mug in the microwave and gave it two minutes.

"Nick? What are you doing awake at this hour?" I heard Solange's voice say to me. I looked up at her, watching he radiant face smile at me as she diligently ran across the kitchen, gathering the pancake batter and blueberry syrup from her mini refrigerator and the pan from one of the cupboards.

"Um... insomnia." I answered lamely. "Really, is something wrong?" she asked worriedly.

"No, I'm just tired." I answered dismissively. She smiled in he sisterly way. "Long night?"

"You have no idea." I answered truthfully. She opened her mouth, as if to say something but then shut it close, rethinking it. She got to work with her pancakes, and I lazily got off my chair to get my mug as the microwave beeped. I smelt the blood, hoping that now that it was heated up it would taste somewhat better.

"Yeah right, disappointing shit." I muttered under my breath.

I caught Solange chocking her eyebrow at me as she whistled. "Someone got off on the wrong side of the bed." she commented. Once again, she could never realise how freakishly true that was. The other side of my bad was probably warm, soft and inviting right now. "Did something bad happen between you and Lucy last night?" she asked as she flipped over one of the pancakes in the pan.

"No, actually everything went fine. We didn't fight that much. I had fun." Just before I had to drive Lucy home, that is.

"That's nice to hear." she said as she continued making more pancakes. We quietened down as she prepared her breakfast and I sipped the blood. I looked down at the burgundy and crimson ripples in the mug. When I looked up, I found Solange studying me intently.

"What?" I asked her.

She fumbled and figured with her foot for a moment. "Nothing... it's just that I was thinking and I'm probably being silly but I want you to answer this question. Do you by any change have... feelings for Lucy?" I felt my eyes fly wide and my mouth open slightly at her question. How could she have known? I kept it hidden pretty well... I think.

I laughed maniacally as if it was the craziest thing in the world. Apparently, drowsiness not only made me look like a zombie, but also made me a lousy actor."Why would you think that?"

"I don't know, it's just the way that you looked at her when she came down the stairs. I saw something that I can't put my finger on. Even she looked at you with 'the look'." she said as she shoved a forkful of pancakes in her mouth.

I looked down, not wanting to meet her eyes. "Well, she did look really nice in her dress." I mumbled.

"I don't think that it was just attraction." She insisted. I looked up at her. "Drop it, Sol. There's never going to be anything between us. She's a human, remember?" I stated harshly. She looked away from me, but I could see that I had hurt her.

"That could change, you know." she mumbled after a while. Solange wasn't realising how true all of this was. Though she may not be in pain right now, her body might be starting the change from human to vampire. I was unsure if that would be a bad or a good thing. I sighed in frustration. She really needed to get up already.

I excused myself so that I could go have a shower. Us guys in the house share two bathrooms while Solange and our parents had one each. I went in my room and got a towel and other garments I needed. I hoped that at least this would help me calm down my haunting nerves.

XXX

I stared blankly at my phone's screen. It was five o'clock and I had absolutely no idea what was going on with Lucy. She had been sleeping for almost twenty hours.

It was official now. I was going mad. And the fact that I couldn't even speak about it because of Solange was slowly killing me and eating away at my insides.

I got off the couch and made my way to Will's study for the sixth time in the time span of two hours.

"Any luck?" I asked my brother as I sat on a stool adjacent from him. He looked up to me with a cocked eyebrow.

"You asked me the same thing ten minutes ago. Now you either shut up or let me work or I'm banning you from this room." he said, shooting me a dirty look. Rolling my eyes at him, I left.

I needed a distraction. Any distraction. I went downstairs and there I found our tattered punching bag. I started pounding it mercifully. My knuckled started to bleed but I didn't care.

But that's when I felt it. It was like a deadly call. I couldn't resist it. It was like my feet had a mind of their own. I started moving swiftly up the stairs and darted straight to my room.

"Lucy?" I asked doubtfully. I looked at the empty bed frantically. My eyes scanned all over the room and found her standing in front of my mirror. She was examining her stomach. All that was left of the wound was a thin pink line. The skin did look a little bit raw and shiny around the bruise, but the important thing is that she was still alive.

She turned around and looked directly at me. I saw the trail of silent tears on her cheeks and it made my slow heart ache.

"You were right." was all she muttered in a broken whisper. 


	11. Breakdown

Chapter 11

+ Lucy+

I did something that never in a million years would I have done. I broke right there in front of him. I looked down, ashamed of my weakness as silent tears spilled out of my eyes. I made no effort to wipe them away as I knew that that would be a dead give away that I was actually crying so I let my brown hair shadow my face in hopes that the salty tears would get wiped away in my hair. It was already a mess, sticky and smelling like a toxic zone with the disgusting mixture of sweat and blood in it. A few salty tears would not make a difference.

I felt strong arms engulf me in a hug. Yet my arms were motionless, dead. Not because of the pain, surprisingly though my wound had been very severe I only felt a little stinging pain when I moved, I could definitely live with it. It was the sense of helplessness and betrayal that made me feel so useless, naive and insignificant.

Abused.

I couldn't hold in the whimper that escaped my mouth as I started getting back short images from last night that turned into memories. The feelings, sensations and the pain all came back to me.

How much my cheek stung when he hit me.

The feeling of the unforgiving blade sliding within me.

But worst, the absolute worst of the whole situation was the fact that I couldn't decide if I felt more bad about the fact that my brother had come close to sexually abusing me last night rather than the fact that he really stabbed me with a knife. I had endured practically every type or form of violence. I handled structural violence pretty well because it was in my nature not to give a shit about what people think of me. I don't mind being put down my some slut's comment or by some arrogant ass hole who tried to get himself noticed by messing with the weird girl. I didn't even mind it when my brother made Jules break my heart (even though Jules didn't succeed, I didn't love him in the first place). And physical violence has been something I got used to a long time ago. I knew that I was exploited and mistreated in every way possible. I also knew that I was abandoned by both parents. Bad stuff has been such a constant issue in my life that it has become a routine.

But never ever have I ever been sexually harassed, well, never ever up until yesterday. I think my brother was too wasted to realise what he was doing but the damage was still done and it was unrepairable. Nick's hands woke me up from my nightmare of a daydream.

"Lucy! You're shaking like a leaf. Just tell me what's wrong, I can't bare to see you like this." Nick pleaded me in a whisper of a voice. I felt his lips at my forehead, putting hasty, small kisses on my skin. His grip on me tightened. I huddled up as closer to him as physically possible, making our bodies mould into one. My head found the soft crook of his neck where it settled and we stayed like that for a few minutes. Tears fell freely now that the poker face I usually put up cracked. But Nick's presence soothed me. I didn't know where I would be without him. Though I don't remember much what happened, I'm sure that he saved me from certain death.

As I lay inhaling his scent I realised how much I had become addicted to it. But he fact that I knew that what was going on between us right now was just the product of his pity for me made me furious, frustrated and vulnerable at the same time. I had blown up what we had for my brother. He had warned me against my decision but I decided to go with it so I had to pay the price now. But honestly, if the price was almost risking my virginity I had to say that maybe the price to pay had been too high for me. Destiny had its own twisted way of making my life hell. I'd never forgive myself for what I had done, and now the memory of my brother sexually harassing me would be etched within, reminding me this unforgivable decision.

"It's all going to be alright. Don't worry." he cooed me reassuringly. I nodded, trying to get that through my thick skull, but something from deep within me told me that this wasn't over, that we still had much more troubles that we needed to face. Call it sixth sense or paranoia, but whatever it was it wouldn't allow me to calm down. The sense of safety that I felt was only virtual, non existent. I knew that soon enough when he dropped his arms from around my body I'd be left exposed and all the troubles of the world would come crashing down on me again.

He made me sit down, considering that I was acting like a maniac I was surprised that he wasn't restraining my hands which wrapped themselves around his wrists, making my fingernails dig painfully in his flesh.

"Just calm dow, Lucy. I'll get you a glass of water." he said, but as he tried to step away I gripped at his white shirt. "No! Don't leave me alone!" I pleased. He shushed me. "I'll come back in a second." he insisted. I shook my head vigourousely.

"Nick, if you leave my mind starts thinking and that's the last thing that I want to do." I pleaded. "Just stay. Please." he sighed and sat next to me on the bed. He sighed, lowered his head and rubbed his eyes. Only then I noticed the purple bags looming over his eyes. Hadn't he slept this night?

"I'll stay." he said and despite his obvious tiredness, he clasped my hand in his and smiled a barely there little smile. But even in his presence, my mind still wondered about last night. But who would blame me? I almost died!

Gah, why was everything such a blur? I had lost conscience by the time I heard his voice, so I didn't remember how he managed to save me. I was still finding it difficult to believe that I had survived. I swear that I could feel death's cold grip tight around me, dragging me to the land of the unknown. I needed answers.

"Nick, why am I alive?" I asked him bluntly, cutting to the chase. His eyebrows furrowed. "What do you mean? Aren't you glad that you're alive?"

I looked up to meet his confused eyes. "No, I am. But how's it possible. I lost so much blood. I felt my life slipping from between my fingers, Nick. How can I still be alive?" At my words, he broke our eye contact. "I... you... Lucy, I had to um... give you some of my blood. you where going to die and it was the only way to save you." he confessed. My eyes flew wide open and for a moment, my tongue dried up. I didn't know how to answer. He fed me his own blood. A part of him was flowing through my veins. Was I angry, disgusted? The emotions were swirling within me like a raging tornado.

"Lucy?" he asked me after a while, sounding quite worried. I didn't respond. I was no longer in control of my body. He said my name again. Nothing.

"Just say something. Anything! I'd rather have you shouting at me that deal with this fucking silence!" he said after a while as he shook my shoulder. I swallowed, trying to regain my ability to speak again. After a couple tries, I managed.

"Nick, what does that entitle for us? I remember your dad saying that no vampire should ever give their blood to a human. Why, what would that mean for me?" I asked trying to contain the whimpers.

He pulled me on his laps and wrapped his arms tightly round me. He kissed me softly on my forehead. "I don't know, Luce, but whatever it is we'll get over it together." I smiled, though I was honestly not feeling humorous or happy in any way.

My stomach rumbled hungrily then. Nick laughed lightly. "Time to feed the beast." he said. But then his smile turned sourly into a grimace. "And to tell Sol, I guess."

"She doesn't know yet?" he shook his head.

"We didn't want to tell her, cause you know how she'd act." I nodded in agreement with him.

"I'd rather have her focused and non preoccupied with anything else, at least until she goes through the change. There's no need to tell her. Whatever there was in your blood worked wondered, I'm almost completely healed." I said as I lifted my shirt, exposing the thin pink line and the shiny raw skin around it.

Nick nodded and got off the bed. "I'll go get you something to eat." he said as he made his way to her.

"Nick," I said before he exited and closed the door behind him. "I never thanked you for saving my life." I muttered. I was just about as good with gratitude as I was with apologies.

He grinned. "Anytime, Lucky."

Hope you liked this :)

What do you think about Lucy? How will she handle what her brother did to her and what did Nick's blood do to her? Is she still human?

Find out next time :D


	12. Vinculum Sanguinem

**Chapter 12**

**+ Lucy +**

I ran.

I ran as fast as I could, dodging branches out of my way and trying not to trip on the uneven ground. The trees around made me feel trapped, as if the woods were sucking me in deeper but I couldn't turn around. Sweat beads formed at my hairline and as I ran in a puffy crimson red dress, the same colour of the dress I had worn at my mother's wedding, got stuck against a bush of thorns. I pulled at it, ripping away at it's silky cloth until the only thing that was left of it was rags. I continued in my desperate escape. I didn't know exactly what I was running away from, but my gut told me it was nothing good so I kept running.

Finally, I ran smack into a wall covered in ivy and all sorts of thick unkept vines of thorny plants. Slowly, these plants moved as if they had suddenly turned to life. They shifted and together formed a gate. I peered through it and in front of me I saw one of the most grotesque scenes I had ever laid eyes on.

Dead bodies everywhere. And the worst thing of all was that I recognised those people. And how couldn't I? Those dead people were Solange's parents and brothers. I shouted with all the remaining energy that I had in my body. I called out their names, begged them to wake up and tell me that this was a horrible joke. Not one of them did. Stakes had been driven through their hearts and some even had slit throats. I felt ashamed of myself as I realised that my biggest fear wasn't that they had died. I was ashamed to say so but right now I only cared that Nick wasn't in that group. I heard somebody yell a battle cry.

Nick! My head snapped up as suddenly Solange, hiding behind Nick appeared. A vampire I had never sean before appeared to be threatening them. He had shoulder length black hair which he kept in a ponytail and had the whitest skin one could imagine. It was practically translucent, making the bluish veins stand out. I shouted all sorts of profanities at him, but it seemed as if no one could hear me.

"You will never have her, Montmarte, at least not until I stand alive." I heard Nick say, sounding as if he could take on the whole world. Montmarte laughed a sick laughed that made all the hairs on my body stand up. "But that can be easily arranged." he slurred as a pair of unnaturally long canines extended. And in a motion too quick for my eyes to follow, Montmarte buried his fangs in Nick's throat. I shouted, begged and pleaded him to let him go. My throat felt as if it was on fire. I tried to get over the gate but it seemed as if my feet were glued to the forest floor. All I could do was watch as that vile vampire killed the man I loved. My heart ached as I fell to the ground. I wanted Montmarte to take me, kill me, turn me, drain me. He could do what the fuck he wanted with me as long as he left Nick and Sol alone.

"Lucy! Lucy!" I heard someone say. I woke up, gasping for air. My cheeks felt flushed and wet with the tears I had shed. Nick was standing above me, trying to shake me out of my hysterics. I knew that I was hyperventilating but I couldn't stop. Nick engulfed me in a hug and shushed me, telling me that everything was going to be alright. I nodded at his soothing words and eventually calmed down. I relaxed when I felt his lips at my forehead, kissing me softly.

_'It was just a dream. It was not real.' _I repeated to myself. Nick was right here, safe, with me.

The relieve that flooded me was so intense that I didn't think. I just acted. I turned around and crashed my lips to his. It was a passionate kiss, filled with need and despair. During those few brief moments when I thought he was really gone, I felt as if a part of me had died. As ridiculous as it sounds, in the dream I needed him, I _loved_ him and now back in reality, I was confused.

But one thing was for sure. We shared something much deeper than just attraction. But right now, the latter dominated us. I let my relief flow through our kiss. I let his hands travel freely all over my body. I moaned in response making him kiss me harder. He straddled me on his body and switched our positions so that he could be on top of me. "Nick." i breathed as he put a trail of small butterfly kisses down my neck.

Some kind of realisation kicked through him as he tried to pull away from me, much to both our reluctance. "Lucy, I... I don't want to take advantage of you." I groaned in annoyance. I just wanted to feel his lips on mine, was it such a crime? I tried to reach up for his lips once more, but he was already getting off me. "Even I don't have that much restraint."

I looked away from him as I blushed like a freaking idiot. "I was just really happy that you're safe. That's all." I said dismissively. "I had a really bad dream, Nick. There was so much blood." I said as I rubbed my eyes, making sure that I was really awake.

"I know." he said quietly. I looked up at him questioningly. "What do you mean, you know?" I asked him skeptically. He looked away, nervously biting at his finger nails. "Dammit, Nick just answer me." I told him a little bit too roughly.

"I can't explain it, Lucy. I felt it. I knew you were scared and I felt it deep within me, the need to protect you. I was asleep downstairs but I woke up, only one thought clear in my head. _You._" he said gravely. I just stared at him, unable to answer.

"W-what does it mean?" I asked hesitantly. "I don't know. Stop asking me questions which you know I can't answer." he said roughly. My eyebrows furrowed. What could all this mean?

"Nick- all this started after you gave me your blood, right?" I asked. He nodded, seeming not too pleased about our situation. "Don't worry, Lucy. Whatever it is we'll get over it. Will is already working on it. Now, you should probably shower, no offence but you look like a mess; then we'll go tell him, perhaps it can help him narrow down some things." He said.

"None taken." I said sarcastically. "Anyways how am I supposed to shower if I don't have any clothes her, huh? You know that Sol is a light sleeper, we wouldn't be able to sneak in the room without her knowing." I asked him, refraining from adding "Checkmated, bitch" to that sentence. His eyebrows furrowed. "Guess I'll have to lend you something then." he said sounding no so happy about it. He went over to his closet and got me a pair of striped pyjama pants and a black shirt that looked at least three sizes too big for me. And to complete the mess and make this a dozen times more embarrassing for both of us, a black towel and a pair of black briefs lay underneath the pile. Well, I definitely couldn't stay in my pair of panties any longer. I needed to change fast. I nodded and without further words, went in the bathroom he shared with three of his brothers. I quickly attended to my bladder, realising just how much I was in need of water in my system. Next I removed my shirt and realising much to my horror that I hadn't been wearing a bra.

_Deep breaths,_ I warned myself. I should just thank him that was alive, he had to do what he had to do. I continued removing my clothes feeling very much creeped that I was doing this in the boy's bathroom. This place had always been a taboo for me and Sol. When we were young, we both thought that boys were yucky so we never even dared to step in here and as we grew older and so did her brothers, we avoided this place for obvious reasons. I stepped in the shower and let the hot water pour over my hair and body. I tried to ignore the white line that would mark me forever. I would ignore it, just like I ignored the three white lines that ran along my back. I lathered my hand with the guys' shampoo. It smelled musky and manly but since I had no other option, I preferred the woodsy scent rather than the scent of sweat and dried blood. Plus, it reminded me of Nick's scent. Afterwords I washed my body with some shower gel and rinsed off, watching the white foam as it swirled all around the shower floor till it disappeared in the drain hole. I exited the shower and wrapped the towel around me, and after I was dry I wrapped it around my hair.

Awkwardly, I put on Nick's briefs. They felt comfortable enough and at least they weren't falling off, which was a bonus. I put on the shirt next, tying a knot at the bottom. I put on the pants which were terribly long for me. I turned the elastic till I could at least walk without tripping. I towel dried my hair for a few minutes and afterwards put the towel along with my dirty clothes in the laundry basket. When I exited, Nick gave me a good look over and burst out laughing.

"What?" I asked him in annoyance, trying to arrange the shirt. "Nothing, it's just that you look so strange with my clothes on." he finally said. "But don't worry, it's a good look on you." I rolled my eyes and didn't answer though I had a billion sarcastic responses ready for him. "Let's just go see your brother."

XXX

After we explained what happened with the dream, Will kept looking at us blankly, but his mined seemed far away.

"So?" I asked him, getting absolutely no response. After a while he looked up at us as if we had mutated. "Could it be?" he said more to himself that to us. "But it's not possible... to farfetched... centuries ago..." he trailed on, grabbing an old book that seemed as old as dust. "What is it?" Nick asked impatiently. I tried to peer over and try to understand but the book was in latin, I think.

"Vinculum Sanguinem" he whispered. Nick and I looked at each other and then back at Will.

"What does that mean?" I asked in a low voice.

Will looked at both of us with a very grave look. What had we gotten ourselves into? I entwined my fingers with Nick's. I couldn't hear this on my own if it was that bad.

"It means that you're blood bound. One of the most sacred, rare and forbidden bonds in our world."

**XXX**

**And she drops the bomb! So what does it mean? What will it entitle? Why is this bond forbidden? **

**Tell me what you think :) You're in for a hell load of surprises**

**Until the next time, my lovelies :)**


	13. Blood Bound

**Chapter 13**

**+ Lucy +**

"What the hell is a blood bond?" Nick demanded. Unlike me, he still had the ability to talk. After the words "blood bond" and "forbidden" my mind went blank. I may not be an expert in vampire politics but I knew well enough that when they said forbidden, they really meant it, and the penalty for defying them was... death.

Will ran a hand through his hair and started shuffling through stacks of paper. "I may be wrong but you two have a good chunk of what usually makes a blood bond. I'm not even sure if it is possible anymore, the last reported cases happened at least five hundred years ago-"

"That's not what I asked, Will. What will it entitle for us? How did it even happen in the first place if it's as rare as you said." Nick urged him. Will exhaled sharply. "I'll tell you everything I know, but you have to keep in mind that not all the information is true. As I said, not much is known about it."

"It doesn't matter, it's the only lead we've got." Nick said desperately, his hand tightening on mine.

"Well, when our race was just at the beginning and only a handful of us roamed the world, our race was weak. Vampires chose to mate and reproduce with other vampires so there were many cases of incest which did not help to strengthen the gene pool. The thought of turning humans was blasphemy to the early vampires. Humans were considered as mutts, only good to sustain us. As legend says, the blood bound formed during these early days for our people, when a vampire fell in love with a human feeder. He had never fed fed from her, and simply admired her from afar. Once, a vampire attacked her, leaving her only breaths away from her death. Out of instinct, he gave her his blood to save her and thus creating the first blood bond. That's about as much as I can decipher of this story. Their names where Arabella and Alexandru, quite fitting, I think since their names mean gracefully beautiful and defender of man kind." I sucked in the story, etching all the details of the sketchy story in my mind.

"Cute story, but what did it mean for them? Did she become some sort of vampire?" Nick asked, earning a glare from Will who was obviously trying his best not to smack his little brother. "As I was saying, there is another testimony of a blood bound couple which goes back fifty years later. They left a detailed report on their story. Basically both had the same background of the couple before them. The male vampire, Dragomir tells that he had been attracted to the human long before he gave her his blood. They shared something way before the connection existed. The woman, Oana, tells her story as she died, fighting the blackouts, seeing the darkness trying to swallow her. When Dragomir saved her, he gave her a part of his life, as she alone would not have carried on. By doing this, they both had access to each other's dreams and emotions, especially when these were too strong."

"I don't understand." I finally managed to croak out. "But why would something like this even exist in the first place. Surely evolution doesn't give a rat's ass to emotions and all this stuff." Will somehow managed to look more uncomfortable than before. "You're right, Lucy. Nature thinks of everything. This bond is a way to ensure healthy infants that would grow into the strongest vampires possible. It bonds two people for one specific reason, to procreate. It simply ensures the survival our species by finding the strongest, most ideal mate for a vampire to bear his children." he said solemnly. I did not even dare to look at Nick's face. I got to live, but in return I'd have to be a mother to Nick's children.

"Lucy," I heard someone call from afar. "Snap out of it, you don't need to hyperventilate." I took long calming breaths, trying to regain my composure.

"Well, apart from this emotional crap what else are the side effects?" Nick asked grimly. "And why in hell is it forbidden to our kind?"

"You will not only be tied emotionally, but also physically. If someone is hurting one of you, the other will feel it to. It creates anxiety in both of you if you stay away from each other for too long. And um... you'll probably feel um... more attracted to each other than usual," We shot him a glare which he shrugged off, ",so expect sexual tension, to say the least. Nick, you'll probably be quite over protective on Lucy. And lastly, God forbid from happening, if one of you dies, the other will slowly deteriorate until they die too. The latter is the reason why it's forbidden, because if one of the links is broken, both will suffer tremendously." I swallowed, but my mouth was dry.

This was too much information for me to deal with. What could I do, I was all but literally chained to Nick's side for the rest of my life. I couldn't take it anymore. I got up and ran like hell as Nick called my name after me. I tore through the rooms and outside till I sat down beneath a willow. Even though it was probably way past midnight, I didn't care. I honestly didn't have the energy to ponder on it anymore. I cried. I was making a bad habit out of crying lately. Where usually I was tough and unbreakable, right now I felt more vulnerable than ever.

Why? Of all worthy girls. why me? Nick deserved a beautiful vampire girl who could support him, not some human with a horrible background and enough scars on her body to last her a lifetime. He deserved someone poised and elegant who knew all the rules of etiquette. and what would his parents say? I knew that they treated me as if I was part of the family, but would they really want one of their boys with someone was messed up as me?

The fact that I had no one to talk to was driving me insane. Usually I could just pour out my heart to Solange, but how could I add another thing to worry for her. She could die in a few days, for Pete's sake! I needed to stop being selfish. I had to gather myself, put the broken pieces back together and try to go back to normal. There was a solution to everything if I thought hard. I just had to block off my emotions, at least when around Nick. I could ignore the attraction, that would be the easiest thing to do. As for his protectiveness and anxiety, he'd just have to suck it up and leave me alone. The only thing left is to not die, which wasn't completely in my hands.

That's how my day ended as I cried myself to sleep.

I felt warm and comfortable, safe. Someone was drawing circles on my arm, possibly the most soothing gesture ever created by mankind. I cuddled closer to the unknown person as they pulled me in closer to their body. I put my head in the crock of their neck, inhaling there wonderful woodsy scent that smelt too good to be natural, but I knew that it was. "Lucy." an all to familiar voice whispered in my ear as it placed soft kisses along my throat.

That's when the events of the night before hit me. I whisked myself off the bed, Hating myself as an empty, restless feeling settled down in the pit of my stomach. I didn't know why, but he was smiling. Genuinely. This was no time to be happy. We had a long, painful process ahead of us. I would curse his brilliant future, I knew it. I couldn't bare to see myself do that to him. I lo- cared too much for him to see him go to waste because of me.

"Lucy, I-"

"I know what you're going to say and I agree with you. We need to break this stupid blood bond as soon as possible, no matter how." I watched, as much to my surprise, his smile faltered and disappeared into nothing, leaving behind his expressionless poker face.

**XXX**

**Ohhh... the plot thickens... Tell me your thoughts! What do you this about the Blood Bond? Don't forget to review... you know you want to :P**


	14. Heartache

**Chapter 14**

**+LUCY+**

I looked at him as he stared blankly at me. His eyes widened suddenly, as if my words had just registered in his mind.

"Are you crazy Lucy? Didn't you hear what Will said? We can't break the bond." he said as he got off the bed. I noticed that he had removed his shirt and and my borrowed pyjamas pants were in a pool on the floor. I picked them up and put them on immediately.

"That doesn't mean we shouldn't do more research about it. Maybe if we dig deep enough we'll find a way out. There's got to be a way out." I said. My voice has risen and I started feeling too hot. If I could I would have shredded off all of it.

"Wait, Lucy, let's talk a little bit about this." he said as he gripped my hand and pulled me towards the bed. I sighed sharply.

"Lucy, gathering information about this was already hard, next to impossible. We might as well accept i-"

"Accept what? That my future and yours too has just collapsed right before our eyes?" I asked him, rage lining my words. I knew that this wan't his fault but I could not understand how he could accept this fate.

"If you think a little bit about it, this is not so bad. I thought that we already had a thing for each other." I stared at him, flabbergasted "A _thing_ does not mean expecting to have the other person's babies. Will said it was like animal instinct, so what? In a few days you'll turn me and we'll go at it like rabbits till I start popping out an army of little vampires-to-be out of me?" I asked him with desperate eyes.

Surprisingly, he chuckled. "What are you smiling about?"

"'Go at it like rabbits'. Seriously, Lucy, the way you put words astounds me." I snickered quietly too. "It's not funny. Nick, I don't even know if I want kids." i told him solemnly. My eyes travelled down to the floor, anywhere but in his direction. "What do you mean, I thought you liked kids? he said softly. I sighed once more, I was almost sixteen years old, I didn't need to have this talk. I am a virgin, for crying out loud, a single - I think - virgin. Why should I bother talking about kids when I'm still growing up myself?

"Nick... I... I will never be a good parent. My own parents messed up my childhood. Look at me and Josh, why would I to to that to some innocent kid?" I asked him. He pulled my face up by the chin. "Hey, there's nothing wrong with you. You've been through a lot, but that doesn't mean that you should close any doors to your future." he said reasonably. "And think a little bit about it. It would also make it easier for you to be around Solange and-"

I groaned in frustration. "Don't you see. This stupid bonds has us under its clutches. Let me ask you know, had this whole thing not happened, would you have ever considered a future with me. Me of all people?"

"Why not you, Lucy?It almost seems as if you don't want me to like you. Ignoring this bond would be stupid and useless. Will told us plainly that we bonded because there was already something between us. Then why should we make our lives difficult and not embrace this?"

"Because I don't know how I feel! This bond- it does weird things to me. When I had that nightmare, I saw your family dead. And I felt relief, Nick! Relief that you weren't among them instead of feeling angry or saddened for their loss. I... I don't know if my feelings are produced by the bond or if it's really me." I said, leaving him speechless. By now, there was not much to say. "I'll just go sleep in Sol's room, I'll try not to wake her." I told him hastily. He took a hold of my hand. "Wait, there's no need for that, apart from the fact that you'll wake her, how will you explain that you got here in the middle of the night without a car?" he asked me. Oh, the condescending little bastard.

"That's so true." I told him in an annoying voice I ripped of the bitches at school. "I'll go sleep on the couch downstairs." I tried to pry his hand off mine but he didn't let me.

"Oh come on, Lucy don't be stubborn. You'll cramp up down there" he said persuasively. I couldn't help but chuckle. "Yeah, I'll cramp up on a sofa bed and get suffocated on the cloud-like cotton candy softness of the pillows. Oh the horror." I said sarcastically in mock distress.

That actually squeezed a chuckle out of him. "Just stay with me, just for this night." he begged me. My eyes widened open in realisation.

"You want me to stay, don't you?" I said with a smirk.

He looked down, and I think I actually saw him blush a little. "I don't know... maybe." he mumbled in the most adorable way. I leaned down over him. With every inch forward I took he leaned down till he was lying completely on his back. I got on top of him, a leg on each one of his sides.

"You're a bad little boy, aren't you?" I purred seductively at him. He growled deeply at the back of his throat. His lips where on mine before I could take one last breath. His hands touched every part of me. His hands tugged at my pyjama bottoms. In a flash, they disappeared, leaving me only in his borrowed boxers and shirt. He started tugging at the knot on my shirt, but I regained control and instead pulled his shirt off. I ran my hand across his chest. He was well built, and I could feel the result that years of training - and angrily pounding at punching bags - left. He may not have had the eight pack that every book and movie wrote about, which in all honesty was just a bunch of bullshit, but he was well toned. He growled again, and straddled my body on his. He took ahold of me by the shoulders, almost ripping off my shirt. "I want you, Lucy." he breathed at my ear. I wanted this too. I felt it right deep within me, through the blood that traveled through my veins.

My head cleared. It was as if I had been lost in a fog, compelled to walk blindly. I realised what was going on. It was the bond. Of course it was the fucking bond! What else would make me act like a freaking animal on heat? Because that was just what we were. We were just animals. Pawns in nature's big plan. I tried to kick free out of his grasp but he was holding me too tightly. His hold on my wrists tightened to a point that it was causing me pain. I couldn't shout or try to snap him out of it as it was vital to keep this a secret. I didn't want to handle how they would see us. Involuntary tears ran down my cheeks.

It hurt. It hurt worse than when Josh stabbed me. But I pursed my lips.

Just as his teeth were about to sink in my flesh, he stopped. Despite that my vision was clouded with the tears that still lingered, I could see the shock spread over his expression. He shoved me roughly away from him. "Lucy, I'm so sorry. I felt your sadness, I felt it within me!" he whispered.

Then for the first time, I discovered what it was like, feeling somebody's emotion within you. I felt his shame and guilt. I wanted to hug him and tell him that it was alright, but I knew that it would be a big lie if I did.

Both of us had a million words to say to the other, but at the same time, we were speechless after what just happened. I clumsily picked the pyjama bottoms of the floor and put them on with shaking hands.

I ran out of the room, my heart aching as I left Nick with his face buried desperately in his hands.

XXX

**Hmm... Trouble in well... not exactly heaven but you get my point :P So what do you think that will happen? Will they really be able to stay away from each other? What more does the blood bond entitle that we'll discover later? Will I ever have time to proofread my work? Well, find out in the next chapters :P **

**Review and leave your thoughts about the books so far... c'mon you know you want to...**


	15. Dark Desires

**Chapter 15**

**+ NICK +**

What had I done? I had almost convinced her to give this a chance, but not five minutes later, I proved that she was right, that we had to get rid of this thing immediately. I didn't know what got over me, but as she flirted with me, I knew that I wanted her. I wanted to feel her peachy skin under my hands, to taste those rose red lips, to make her truly mine. Had her emotions not stopped me, I would have carried on without a doubt. Even now, a good fifteen minutes after the whole thing I was still shaking with anticipation. I rubbed my eyes, hoping that all of this was just one fucking nightmare that I would wake up from.

I wanted to go back to our simple mock hate relationship when we lived to retort to each other's snide comments. Maybe I would have never kissed her, but at least we would't have to go through all this shit. Of course, maybe if I hadn't kissed her, she would have never accepted me to go with her to her mother's wedding and maybe Josh would have killed her. Maybe she and Solange would have slipped out together and got captured. All these maybes were making my head spin. Not to mention that Lucy's emotions of despair mixed with mine, and amplified my headache.

I got out of bed and headed downstairs to the kitchen. I needed blood. Now. Just my luck, there was Lucy, holding her head in her hands. "Would you just get away from me? We've caused enough damage today." She hissed at me, her cold words causing me to wince. _We're bonded. How can she say such cruel words to me? _That was my first reaction, but as I thought over her sentence, her voice broke at the end. She wasn't doing this because she really meant it, she was just trying to weaken it, trying to make me feel rejected so that It would be easier for us to ignore the bond.

"Look, who's grown a big head. I came down for some blood. And by the way, I think you're right." I said, trying to seem nonchalant when in reality I was trying hard not to meet her eyes or even inhale any of her scent. One whiff of her mouthwatering scent could make me forget everything and unleash the monster in me.

She looked dumbfounded. "About what?"

"We have to break the bond. We are two mature people so I'm sure that we can handle being around each other and suppress the bond, despite the urgency to tear each other's clothes' off." I stated as I pulled a bottle out of the fridge and put it in the microwave. I imputed the right settings and waited impatiently for the the beep.

"Nick, please understand that I'm doing this mostly for you. I don't even want your parents or brothers to know, except for Will of course. You have a bright future ahead of you. I would just tie you dow-"

I rolled my eyes. There she was again with the self-hating. "Just shut up, Lucy, you know you're only saying a bunch of bullshit. The only reason why I agreed with you was because I was afraid that if one day I lose control, I could kill you. And probably with the right guidance we could have gotten over that too. But you choose to make us go through a painful separation instead. Don't worry though, as soon as we find the antidote for this thing we'll no longer be parasites to each other and we can go back to hating each other."

I couldn't help but smirk, knowing that I had planted the seed of doubt in her mind. I was sure that it would be only a matter of time before she realised that this idea was stupid. I got the bottle out of the microwave and well, nothing new there. Much to my dismay, she nodded. "Perfect." she got a juice box out of the fridge and put the bendy straw in the hole. She bumped the juice box against my blood bottle as if we were toasting and drank. She looked adorable as she sucked on the straw. I looked away from her and instead focussed on draining the bottle dry.

I was about to rinse the bottle and try to get some sleep when her voice broke me. "You know, I don't hate you, Nick. I just strongly dislike you." she told me. My hand tightened around the bottle. I was exerting so much pressure on it that it broke in my hands, making a painful gash across my palm.

I cursed and held my hand and darted to the sink. I rinsed the wound, not really sure if this would help at all, but I guess it would at least get the glass fragments out of my hands. "What did you do! Come on, let me see." Lucy fussed from behind me, and against my will, took my hand in hers. "Just a sec." she said as she hurried somewhere past the corridor. A few minutes later she had returned with a pair of tweezers and a bandage in her hands. She opened the blinds, making me squint. I hated the sun in the morning. The rays felt as if they were trying to ignite me, soon my temperature would rise and it would feel as if my blood was boiling. Soon my skin would start blistering. Believe me, it wasn't a pretty sight and it was painful as hell, or so I've been told, but I took their word for it.

"Lucy, the light's a little bit strong. It'll heal on it's own, don't worry." I said to reassure her. But she wasn't an idiot and she was also one of the most stubborn people I knew. "It will not heal properly with the glass in it. It will only take a second, then you can go suck it up in a dark corner or something." Before I could protest further, she took my hand in her once more. The look of pure concentration on her face was quite amusing when you consider that usually she had a very short attention span. She was biting her tongue, and I couldn't restrain the chuckles. They stopped when she stomped on my foot. "Stop moving you bloody idiot. And I mean it literally, who the hell breaks a glass bottle in their hands? I'll have to tell Helena to invest in cheaper, safer plastic bottles." she grumbled beneath her breath. "There, I got you, you little sucker." She muttered as she removed the last bit of glass.

Blood has started flowing through the wound once more and she had also stained her hands in the process. I mumbled a stiff 'Thanks' and she returned it with a nod. She examined my hand for the last time before covering it up in gauze. "So much blood." she whispered, as if she was stuck in her own trans. I looked questioningly at her but she didn't even notice. Instead she ran her finger along the edges of the wound staining further her hands with my thick red blood.

"What are you doing?" I finally asked her. But she didn't answer, she didn't even look up. She just stared at her finger as if it was the most fascinating thing in the world. Slowly, she put her finger to her lips and licked the blood off of it. I stared at her, feeling bewildered beyond compare. I knew that to humans our blood tasted good, but I'd never thought that she would ever want more of it after she was stabbed. It was the blood that got us into this in the first place, after all. Just as I was to make her step away from me, she licked across my hand. Her hot tongue sent surges of pleasure tingling across my skin.I pushed her against the fridge and nipped at her neck, which was bent at the perfect angle for me to sink my teeth in. I played it cool at first, teasing and playing with her soft skin, enjoying the way my teeth grazed against her skin. She moaned and arched her body towards mine. There was nothing between us now except clothes and friction.

I wanted to bite her. SHe wanted me too, I knew it. My canines elongated and became unnaturally sharp. Just a little puncture would draw enough blood for me to satisfy my cravings. Her blood was glorious, and all I wanted right now was to taste it.

"Nick, Lucy?" a bewildered voice asked from behind us.

Shit. We were in so much trouble.

XXX

**SOO... who do you think caught them? What do you think about the bond now? Blood cravings... ohh! Don't hesitate to leave your reviews! This is the only story I'm updating weekly know cause it's the only one I'm inspired to write... so make good use of it while it lasts! The more you review, the more I'll try to update faster :D**

**Thanks for reading!**


	16. It's not How it Looks Like

**Chapter 16:**

**§ LUCY §**

The sound of Logan's bewildered voice broke me out of my obliviousness to what I was doing. When I looked up, Nick's alarmed eyes met mine. But our eye contact only lasted a couple of seconds. Inconspicuously, he put his finger to my lips and wiped them, staining his finger with blood. As the conclusion that I had just drank his blood _willingly_ drawn in on me, I felt like bleaching my mouth, but Nick's guarded expression warned me not to do anything that might give away our dirty little secret. He turned around, giving me the full view of Logan, Connor, Quinn and Duncan's dumbfounded faces.

"This is not how it looks like." Nick attempted. A grin spread across the twin's faces.

Connor clicked his tongue. "Really? Then it doesn't look like you were rubbing yourself all over Lucy while she's wearing _your _clothes and that you were trying to get a taste of her while doing all that at all, you kinky little bastard." He looked at his little brother almost admiringly, yet humour coloured his voice. Had Helena been hear he would have gotten a good spanking all right.

_Yeah, as if Helena would be thrilled with what you and her son were doing just seconds ago, _a dark part of my mind reminded me.

"Shut up." Nick answered quickly as he put as much distance between us as the kitchen allowed.

"Pay up." I heard Quinn say to his brother. I looked at them with a raised eyebrow. "You were betting on us?" I asked them in an accusing tone. They looked down guiltily at the floor.

"Okay, Nick, Lucy; I'm happy for you guys but I'm too young to be an uncle so-" Quinn started but before he could finish the sentence a plastic cup hit him straight in the cheek. I dared to glans at Nick who appeared flustered. He was going to wash his hands in the sink when Duncan quickly crossed the kitchen and grabbed his hand. "Nick, why is there blood on your hand? And more importantly, why was there blood on Lucy's mouth?" he asked us, sounding serious like hell. Instinctively, I wiped my mouth with the back of my hand. There wasn't even a trace of blood on my lips.

"You must have imagined it, we were just, um... kissing." I said uncomfortably. "Don't play coy, Lucy. I'm happy that you recovered but something's been fishy between you and Nick ever since your brother stabbed you. If something up, you need to speak up now before it gets out of control." I looked at Nick who was glaring at nothing in particular.

"We're blood bound. You happy?" Nick said, "And as usual with her everything's more fucking difficult than it needs to be."

I blocked his way before he could storm off to his room. "Me? As if it's my fault that we've got this freaky bond now."

"No, but you're just making it difficult."

"Well, excuse me if I don't want to have _vampire_ babies at the age of fifteen."

Duncan cleared his throat. Our heads snapped towards him. "What?" ,we said in unison.

"Can you stop fighting and tell us what the hell is a blood bond?" Duncan said rationally.

Nick sighed. "After I gave her my blood to save her, apparently a bond was formed between us. It's supposed to be a natural bond created between a vampire and a human so that they can make some sort of strong vampire babies. And apparently it's almost impossible to break it. We're stuck with each other."

The four guys looked at us in sheer bewilderment, as if they wouldn't believe what they had just heard. I could just see the questions they had floating in bubbles above their heads "Wow that's-"

"Lucy? You're here! I haven't seen you in days!" Sol said as she came over to hug me. I hugged her back, and even though she didn't know anything about the blood bond, her hug gave me strength. The four guys went mute after realising that this was not a topic to be discussed in front of Sol.

I smiled warmly at her. "Sorry, it's just that life's been so hectic," she had really no idea just how much my life had become hectic lately. "It's okay, you don't need to worry, I'm just happy to see you. By the way, aren't you supposed to be on your way to school?" As if a lightbulb had flickered inside me, I remembered that I had already missed a day of school and that today we had a history outing that counted 15% of our grade. "You're right! Can you lend me something? I need to be at school in..." glanced at the clock hanging on the wall, "twenty minutes"

"Sure, but- what the heck are you wearing?" she asked me, her eyes trailing on my borrowed clothes. "Um-I spilt some hot chocolate on me and Nick was kind enough to lend me one of his pyjamas."

She glanced curiously at the boy in question. "How very nice of Nick. Anyway, let's get you something to wear," she said as she took my head and lead me up to her room. "So tell me, how did your mother's wedding go?"

"It went surprisingly smoothly." I answered lying straight through my teeth,

"I'm happy to hear that," she said. She was my friend so she believed me without hesitation. It made me feel even guiltier than before. "Here," she handed me a cute dress. It was casual, not to short but short enough for the hot summer. "Um, you don't happen to have a clean set of underwear too. I wanted to shower before I leave."

"Sure," she answered, but something in her voice told me that she wasn't convinced now. Obviously, she would have more questions, any sane person with a brain would wonder why I'd need to shower at their house after I had allegedly just arrived at their house. She handed me a purple set of underwear, and I wordlessly made my way to her bathroom.

I showered in under five minutes, but I scrubbed so hard at my skin I made it go rosy red. I wanted to pretend that the water was going to scrub away all of my problems, but unfortunately, it never did.

I wiped my body with a fluffy blue towel and dressed up just as fast. I gasped in horror at the mess on my head some people call hair. I removed it from its restraints and let if flow past my shoulders in knotted curls. I ran a hand through my hair, realising that it wasn't as bad as I had assumed.

I went down to the kitchen and found Solange eating some pancakes and a glaring Nick draining yet another bottle of blood. When he noticed me, his expression went blank. I noticed the way he discreetly checked me out.

"Come on, Lucy I'll drive you to school." he said as he grabbed his car keys from the kitchen counter.

I was about to complain when he shot me the _look. _He put on a hooded jacket, apparently not caring that he was still in his pyjama pants and made his way outside. I sighed and followed him, as I had no other option.

Stupid, functioning-car owner, blood-bonded, vampire bastard.

XXX

**Wow. I'm almost up to 70 reviews. THANKS :D I wanted to do something special for you guys when I hit hundred. Maybe write an extra long chapter or maybe everybody gets to ask me any question they want, no limits or something of the sorts. What would you guys want? I want to show my appreciation to you guys but I don't know really how... I try to answer your reviews but it doesn't seem enough when I have such awesome readers!**

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	17. He's my Boyfriend Sort of

**+ LUCY +**

I opened the car door and stepped into the passenger seat. I held my breath as I tried to sit properly without giving him a royal view of my rear or missing the seat and falling onto the ground. That long moment of suspense as I got ready to sit but my butt never met the seat frustrated me. Nick saw me struggle to sit and as I was about to open my mouth to complain about how uncomfortable sports cars were he grabbed me from behind and pushed me down.

"There," he said in a satisfied town, "now was that so hard?" I narrowed my eyes at him.

"You're a huge jerk, you know that, right?" He tsked at my response. "Really? Would a real jerk drive you to school and get your stuff which you so absentmindedly forgot this morning?" He said nonchalantly as he pointed to my school bag next to my feet. I hadn't noticed it before now. I grumbled underneath my breath and muttered a low, "Thanks."

"What did you say?"

"Thanks, I said thanks, okay?" I said loudly as I fumed in annoyance. Patronising little weasel. He nodded and started the car. We spent the first few moments in silence. Images of what we did just before we were busted by his brothers floated in my mind. We needed to talk it out and find a rational agreement. "Um... Nick."

"Yeah, Lucky?" I smiled a little at his nickname for me. If felt good to know that not everything had changed.

"We need to talk." I started. He nodded in agreement. "Yes, but I suggest that the discussion should be postponed, now's really not the time." He said and yawned at the end. I remembered that he was probably feeling really tired because of the sun and felt a little bad. "Can you get my sunglasses from the compartment in front of you please?" he asked me. I nodded and gave them to him.

I couldn't deny that he looked hot as hell with his aviator sunglasses. "You done staring or are you going to take a picture?" he asked me with an annoying smirk set on his lips. I looked the opposite direction and crossed my hands in front of my chest.

"Don't pout." He said calmly. My eyebrows furrowed. "I wasn't pouting. And anyways you're not the boss of me. If I want to pout, you can't stop me." I said, and to prove my point I exaggerated a duck face. It squeezed a laugh out of him.

"I didn't mean it like that. What I mean to say was that you shouldn't pout cause it makes me want to kiss you." He said. My mouth hung open.

"How can you say something corny like that without wanting to puke? It's not like you, Nick."

"I can say that because kissing you is the most innocent thing I want to do to you right now. It's becoming hard to let you out of my sight even if it's only for a few short hours. I keep thinking about you and I can't get you out of my mind! You're like a fucking drug to me! If it were up to me I'd stop the car, screw your school and take you here in the school parking lot." He confessed as he pulled into the school. I ignored the faces of my classmates who all turned their heads as the sports car stopped smoothly.

"I didn't know it was this bad for you, I-" before I knew it, his lips were steadily on mine. He kissed me hard, as if he'd have to wait for an eternity before he could touch me again.

"Nick…" I moaned his name as his lips started to make their way down my neck, "don't," I said, knowing that if I he didn't stop soon, the bond would take over. I could feel his reluctance as he almost painfully tore his lips away. I noticed his eyes flicker towards the students outside. Mine did the same and much to my horror, I realised that we had just given them a show.

"It feels as if I'm feeding you to the sharks." He whispered apologetically. I sighed, but smiled instantly for his benefit. "Don't worry. I'm not a damsel in distress, you know. If anyone tries to harass me I'll kick 'em in the nuts, 'kay." He laughed. "That's my girl." I grabbed my bag and with one last kiss on the cheek I got out of the car. He sped away, leaving me looking at the tire marks on the ground.

As fucked up as our relationship was, it was quite hilarious actually. We fought and in about a moment and we laughed together in the next… and did some other things but that's not the point. I turned around, and even if the bell had rung moments ago, the majority of them hadn't even moved. They just kept staring… at me. I let my hair fall in front of my face, but out of habit I pulled it back behind my ear and started repeating this pesky process. How I missed my old ripped jeans, band t-shirt and converse. Even if the dress was cute, I felt out of character in it.

I decided to woman up and ignore them. Maybe I did look girlie but dress or not I could still throw a mean punch. I walked straight to the door, ignoring the girls who were whispering: "whore" or "slut" or the guys who where wolf whistling at me. Because that's just how high school works. They see someone do anything and they transform it into something horrible. I wouldn't be surprised if by lunch break I'd start hearing that I'm pregnant too. I went straight to the History Room and sat at my usual spot at the third row next to the window. Mr Tanner hadn't arrived yet so I just stared out of the window.

I wondered what Nick would be doing right now. He's probably sound asleep by now. I yawned. Even though I did get a good a good night sleep- well sort of- the sun still made me unnaturally sleepy. I made a mental not to ask will if the bond had anything to do with it.

"If it isn't Lucy! How's your Sugar Daddy? He seems nice for a fifty year old pervert." I heard a voice say from in front of me. Stella.

I gazed up at her, "What do you want?" I asked her. She smirked. "Nothing, just to congratulating you on getting a Sugar Daddy."

"Sugar Daddy?" Was she kidding me? Nick's just one year older than me."

"Yes. Much be a luxury for sluts to marry for love." Was she seriously calling me a slut? She was the same girl who everybody knows that has fucked half the football team.

"Just to let you know, he's seventeen, and he's my um… boyfriend." I said, getting stuck on the last part. But seeing her confused look for a second gave me courage. "And he drove me to school cause my car broke down. I don't fucking care what you say right now, I'm in a good mood for once so get out of my face." Just at that moment Mr Tanner came in.

"Please take your seat Miss Kate." He said to Stella. I smirked at her as she made her way to the front row. She shot me the daggers and I just winked at her. I swear if she had laser eyes right now… I'd be cooked golden brown to perfection!

**Guys, I know I've been absent for a while, but I'm still doing my exams :S I have till the 25 June so please bare with me. I know this is not the best chap and nothing has happened in it but due to exams I didn't have the time to write anything better but I really wanted to update cause you guys have been waiting for so long! I promise to return to my 1 week schedule by the time exams are over. **

**P.S Next Chap is guaranteed to blow your socks off... hint* jealous Nick...**

**xxx Sarah**


	18. Melt Down

**Check out the cover! I made it! If you guys need covers for your stories, don't hesitate to ask : ) Just PM me. **

**Enjoy:**

**+Lucy+**

As the class started to settle down, I found myself anxiously checking for the time on my phone.

08:45

Well wasn't that just great. I had exactly six more hours till I got released from this hellhole they call school. I felt my phone vibrate in my bag and when I opened it, I found that it was a text from Nick.

_Well, isn't it just great? I can't sleep. I keep thinking of you. And I don't mean it romantically, you bitch, I seriously can't sleep and I'm exhausted -_-"_

I pursed my lips and wrote back: _Suck it up and stop acting like a whiny little bitch. There's nothing I can do right now, is there?_

What the hell did he expect me to do from here? Teleport into his room. The idea of feigning being sick poked at my mind. I must say, it was quite inviting. I was tired too, my eyes were already fighting against the sandman's stubborn tries to make me close my eyes and loose myself in a nice long nap.

I rubbed my eyes and looked up, trying to seem interested. As much as I liked history, Mr. Tanner didn't help one bit to make it interesting. This field trip was organised by an assistant teacher, because everybody knew that ole Mr. Tanner would never bother to organise it. My eyes searched around the class, trying to find the assistant as Mr. Tanner called out our names for the attendance. A young man walked in just at that moment. He was probably in his early twenties but he looked by far too young to be the assistant. But I was proven wrong when he walked up to the front of the class and Mr. Tanner bothered to acknowledge him with a rare tight smile. I laughed silently to myself at the look on Mr. T's face. He looked liked a constipated piece of shit.

"Well, class. I want you to welcome Mr. Blake. He is going to be my assistant. I expect each and every on of you to treat him as you would treat any other teacher. Understand?" Mr. Tanner said to us in a bleak voice.

I noticed Stella and her wannabes break into soft murmuring, but the words 'hot' and 'fuck' seemed to dominate their entire conversation. Mr. Tanner shot them a dirty look, but they were too absorbed with the new assistant to bother even feigning looking sorry for disrespecting him.

I furrowed my eyebrows at their hormone infested feeble little brains. They couldn't even see a decent looking man without starting to make up bedroom fantasies about him. I turned my gaze to the man. He wasn't all that handsome...

Okay maybe that was a lie. He was as tall as Nick, maybe a little taller. His muscles could be seen through his smart button up shirt. But compared to Nick he was way too stocky. Nick may not have as much muscle as him, but he certainly looked much leaner.

And why was I comparing Nick to Mr. Blake? Why was I trying to find flaws in a man I barely knew? For Pete's sakes, if somebody had heard my thoughts, they'd probably think that Nick was some kind of god with no imperfection or flaws. Stupid bond.

I hated the bond. I fucking hated it. It was the most annoying thing anyone could ever have to endure.

"Lucy Hamilton? Lucy?"

I directed my anger towards Mr Tanner who was calling out my name. "What?" I snapped.

"Is that any way to answer to your teacher, Ms Hamilton?" Mr Tanner asked me in an outraged voice. Well, shit…

"I'm so very sorry Sir. I was lost in thought, I didn't realised you were the one calling." I said, trying to make my voice as sad and innocent as possible. He didn't even spare me a single glance. "Don't worry Ms Hamilton you'll have all the time you need to think today in detention."

"But-"

"Have I made myself clear?" I nodded while silently screaming all sorts of obscenities at him in my mind. I put my phone away before Mr Tanner could notice and give me an entire week of detention. Stupid balding asshole.

Oh God. I had just realised what Nick would do once I told him that I had detention. He was most certainly going to kill me… well maybe not because of the whole grief to death bond thingy.

I realised that every student in the room still had their eyes fixed on me. I looked up at them and mouthed "What?" They instantly lowered their gazes.

Thankfully, the limelight quickly turns to Mr Blake who started explaining what the road trip will be about. I looked up and was quite taken aback when my gaze instantly met his. His eyes bore into mine in an almost captivating way. I was stunned. As the seconds ticked away I found myself lost, unable to look up. He was the one to break eye contact with me, but I swore he grinned at my expression as he continued addressing the rest of the class. I could detect the not of humour in his voice, and I knew that it was directed at me. Call it a sixth sense, a _feeling _or whatever you want but I knew that that cheeky bastard was grinning at me.

Just as I knew that he sure as hell wasn't human. I sniffed the air and the familiar smell all vampires have hit me. I sucked my breath. My hands itched for my phone, to call Nick or anyone to come get me the hell away.

"Everything alright, Ms Hamilton? You seem flustered this morning." His voice sent shivers down my spine. I looked up, careful not to meet his eyes again. I nodded swiftly.

What did he want from me? What were his intentions? Was he a friend, an enemy? And what the hell was he doing in a school- _my _school?

"Very well then. If you would all exit in a single file, I'm sure the buses are already here." Mr Tanner said. I bee-lined with the rest of my classmates out of the classroom, making sure that my eyes never left the filthy floor.

Somebody bumped in my shoulder hard making me stagger and almost fall to the ground, had he not steadied me by the hips. "Can you look before you walk? You almost knocked me out." I said in annoyance to whoever almost manhandled me. I looked up, and much to my horror and dismay, a pair of grey, haunting eyes met mine.

"I'm quite sorry, Ms Hamilton. I'll try to be careful next time." His haunting voice apologised but there was sure as hell no remorse behind his words. His hands lingered more than they should have on my hips and I could visibly see his nose flaring, inhaling my scent. "Blood bound." He whispered in my ear, making chills crawl down my back, "This makes everything a million times more exciting." I swallowed. I could feel his cool breath at the nape of my neck. A sick, twisted part of me ached to feel his mouth sucking at my blood. The thrill I got from the bite was toxically exhilarating. I shuddered at my own thoughts and wiggled, making him release me. I knew he could have kept me underneath his grip for as long as he wanted – of course, he'd probably end up with a broken nose or a knee in the crotch – but he couldn't risk getting noticed by the other students, and the girls in my class were watching his every move like vultures keen on sinking their teeth on the awaiting prey.

I fished in my backpack for my phone. I almost had a mini heart attack when I couldn't find it. One we got on the bus, I spilled the contents of the bag in hopes of finding my phone, but I turned out unsuccessful.

"Looking for something, Ms Hamilton?" His voice came from nowhere which made me gasp in surprise as I shoved my few notebooks and books roughly in my bag. I looked up, finding him giving me a notorious grin and holding my phone in his hands.

I swallowed down my fear as anger replaced it. "Look, I don't know who you are but I can assure you that if try any funny business, I'll make sure to drive a wooden stake _personally _through your little heart." I hissed threateningly. The man- _vampire _looked unmoved by my words. That is till his lips quirked up in a knowing smile. This vampire had a purpose, he wasn't just toying with me for his own twisted entertainment- and I had to find out what it was, no matter what.

"He said you were feisty, but after all no daughter of his wouldn't be." My breath got hitched up at the mention of the word 'daughter'

"What?" I asked incredulously, my voice barely audible. But he had heard me, alright. His lopsided grin grew further.

"Alright, class, looks like we're ready to go!" he said cheerfully, just to annoy me after revealing such valuable information. The class roared in excitement like mindless fools while I was too stunned to even move. He must be lying. He must have done his homework about me, figured out that my father had disappeared and was now trying to allude me, get me to face him alone. I couldn't do that. I had to forget his deceptive, poisonous words before he found me alone and vulnerable. I might be able to break Nick's nose but it's only because the other Drakes would kill him if he laid a hand on me – not that he would do that of course. I'm pretty sure this guy wouldn't think twice about sinking his fangs in my throat and ending my life- for good.

Was it worrying that I didn't care about my death, but only about the pain that Nick would have to endure if I died? I buried my face in my hands. _Come on, stay strong, Hamilton. Focus._

The first thing on my agenda was to find a phone. But where in the name of Hell would I get one?

I could always pickpocket one… perhaps all those rumours about my family being nothing but just plain trouble were true. I could always tell the person I found it on the ground…

_Here's an idea, Sherlock just ask, _my conscience suggested. Yeah, right, like anyone would ever lend _me _a phone. I'm the outcast among them. The weird girl with the suicidal dad.

_He mention your dad, don't you have a shred of curiosity in you. He hinted that he knew your dad, or at least spoke to him. Where did your million questions to your father go? _The other half of my conscience reprimanded. I suddenly wanted to kick something. My curiosity was killing me but I couldn't put myself to risk, not when there was Nick at stake. I had to stay safe, lay low and hope that Nick would be waiting me outside of my school. I could feel my heart racing as my nerves soared. I was a mess. My mind hurt from all the thinking. I was getting claustrophobic.

I started feeling lightheaded. My whole world spun below me. My lack of sleep due to my troubled thoughts, the injury in my stomach which still ached dully whenever I moved and my accursed thoughts that would keep me up all night and send shivers down my back caught up with me.

My head hit the window before I could register the fact that I was blacking out.

XXX

I opened my eyes and the first thing that greeted me was the yellowish light that the dim energy saving bulb gave. The roof was yellowish white just like the light that fell on it. My eyes fell on the machinery at my side. I turned my neck slowly, only to discover that the familiar piece of machinery that I see in all movies was attached to my wrist through some sort of wires. The constant beeping that I hadn't noticed before increased as I sat upright feeling a very unpleasant sense of disorientation settling deep in the pit of my stomach.

_Where the hell was I?_

"Oh you're up." My head instantly snapped to my side from where the voice was coming from. _His voice._ The beeping increased.

"What are you doing here? Where is here?" I asked in an icy voice showing him that even though I felt like jelly- solid and unstable. I tugged at the wires with shaking hands, ready to leave from the hospital- or so I assumed and hunt down a phone. He slapped my hands softly away.

"You fainted and I was chivalrous enough to escort you on my own to the nearest hospital. Perhaps you should think twice about that tone, Lucy." The way he said my name, almost as if he was used to it made my eyes narrow at him.

"I will talk to you however I like. I don't care for any of your mind games so I suggest you let me go and give me back my phone." I confronted him. He was the one narrowing his eyes now.

"Ah yes, so you can contact that little boy Nicolai, the one you have bonded with. You shouldn't have done that. You were promised to me." He growled, walking closer. I wanted to back away because I suddenly felt tiny.

"I had no control over it. And by the way, his name is Nicholas, not that it's any of your business." I said, holding my head up high. He was rougher than I had hoped for as he grabbed me roughly by my throat. "I may have laughed at your feistiness but I will _not _tolerate the way you speak to me." His gaze melted into mine and once more I found myself unable to look away. His hand shot up dangerously close to my face. My eyes closed in anticipation as I waited for my face to sting as his palm connected with my cheek but it never did. I opened my eyes slowly, first peeking with my right eye. His gentle touch as he caressed my cheek reassured me, but at the same time made my back stiffen. I hadn't expected it in a million years.

"You have such soft skin." He muttered under his breath as his lips travelled down to my chin. _Whore. You're bonded you shouldn't let any man do this. You belong to another._ The bond screamed at me at full blast. I wanted to push him away, scream at the top of my lungs, kick him in the nuts or shin but I was like a dear caught in the headlights, struck with fear. I feared for Nick's life because though this vampire might have realised that I was bonded, he might not know that I wasn't physically able to feel any sort of pleasure under his touch because guilt and remorse overpowered all the other sensations.

But I had to act like I did. For his sake. I shuddered involuntary. My body felt dirty and betrayed me.

"You're shy, aren't you? You may be bonded- but you're a virgin, I can _smell _it_!" _he whispered huskily. A breathless "No" escaped from my mouth. He chuckled darkly. His hand travelled to my chest and settled on my boob. With that he drew my last straw, I wriggled and kicked, but just as I was about to start screaming my head off, he clamped a large, rough hand on my mouth.

_I was going to get raped. _My nerves rocketed and my breathing came with difficulty. He was holding so tightly that he was cutting off my oxygen.

This bond was a curse but maybe Nick would feel my distress and come to help me out. I begged and pleaded. I never deserved this shit. Was it too much to ask for a normal family? I felt his hands teasing me, playing with the elastic of my panties beneath my dress.

The beeping increased once again.

I closed my eyes and got ready for the worse. I'd just try to imagine I was somewhere else, somewhere comfortable, all on my own where no one could hurt me. Somewhere where I was free- no blood bond, no nothing.

I found myself free falling backwards in slow motion, my eyes still closed. Perhaps I was dreaming. I realised just how much I wasn't dreaming when my head hit the cold floor.

I rubbed at my head and my wrist as the wires had been so cruelly removed at once. But I had to catch my neck once I saw Nick. Never in all my live had I seen him so lethal. His fangs were bared at the vampire and he was crouched in an attaching position, ready to spring at him.

"I'm going to fucking kill you for touching her." He whispered menacingly. I had never been as mystified and intrigued by him as I was now.

The vampire a.k.a Mr Blake laughed almost hysterically. "You? Please, you're not even capable of shining my shoes let alone kill m-" Nick cut him off as he lunged at him, aiming to kill.

I could barely follow what was happening. My mind was muddled, probably from the medication I had been given. They stopped for a single moment, which was long enough for me to notice that though Mr Blake's lip seemed to be bleeding , Nick's nose was bleeding too, and much more heavily.

They continued fighting, and I kept waiting, heart in mouth, hoping that Nick would be victorious. Suddenly I heard a crashing noise that would have surely alerted the nurses that something strange was going on. "Kill me! Let me show you just who is in control here." I heard Mr Blake's voice say just next to my ear. I turned around but it was too late. I felt to a sharp pain before I could take another ragged breath.

"No!" I heard Nick's desperate voice before I was lost to the pain. Mr Blake was no gentle Nick who barely sucked enough blood when he bit me. He bit me hard. Too hard.

I had given up all hopes. I had come close to death so many times today. When I saw Nick I thought that all my problems were solved. But sometimes even the superheroes fail to save the day.

I looked at Nick's beautiful face for one last time and mouthed "I'm sorry." The look he gave me was one of pure agony, knowing that he can't save me.

But then, all of a sudden, he stopped sucking. A low, sickening sound came from his throat as he started to gag. I looked back at Nick who's eyes looked like big glassy orbs filled with surprise. At the first signs of vulnerability from Mr Blake he pulled me towards him, and held me tightly to his chest.

We watched as much to out delighted surprise, as he gaged on my blood. He seemed to be decomposing into a mess of thick, dark red gooey blood, almost as if a blood bag had exploded in the room. Well at least the he won't bother us any longer. I would have never survived had this not happened. I guess the bond does have its perks after all…

Nick pulled at my hand, "Come on, the nurses are coming." I looked at him questioningly but there was no time for explanations. I got on him in a piggyback position and he opened the window and jumped down two stories to the ground. We ran together towards his car though halfway he got annoyed with keeping up with my slower pace and ended up carrying me to his car. We got in and he floored the gas pedal till the hospital could be seen no more.

**Xxx**

**Guys, I owe you a huge apology. Thanks to those of you who kept sending me to upload. You helped a lot to motivate me! Sorry I didn't respond though lately I'm always busy. I know. I'm a grade A bitch. Feel free to call me so cause I know I deserve it but I had severe writer's block and last week I was on vacation in Europe. And I say Europe cause we drove down from England to France (we used the ship to cross, excellent fish and chips loved it, but CRAPPY WIFI) then we crossed all of France down to the Alps and half of Italy till Naples. (there is no trace of WIFI in Italy's service stations, trust me, I looked as if I was calling the mother ship all the time with my phone and laptop in the air as I traid to get signal. Anyways hope you enjoyed the chap. I just wanted to ask something to you. Actually 2 things.**

**A)Please I really need the feedback. I feel like the story is lacking something but you guys keep telling me to continue. Do you really mean it? Should I continue writing this? Please leave some feedback on this because I was seriously considering quitting, but I respect you guys to much to do so. I NEED to know that you're still interested. There's no need for a speech, even smiley face is enough to show that you're still reading this. It's not really hard, not so time consuming and it would mean a lot.**

**B)How old are my readers, or more importantly, would you mind an R Rated scene or should I post an R rated chap and tell you at the beginning of the clean version? I'll warn you anyways and make sure not to include anything special in the chap. Do you guys even want an R-rated chap? Just trying to please everybody cause some people want an R rated chap. (Quite frankly I'm not up to writing it just now, just trying to see where you guys want this story to go :) **

**Review below and tell me, c'mon you know you want to :P**


	19. Yours

**Okay, so firstly I wanted to say, HAPPY BIRTHDAY to lemonecake! I wanted to update on your exact birth day but I didn't manage… but anyways, um, SURPRISE! xD So were you surprised? Did you expect it? Hope you had the best day ever, sweetie! **

**Secondly, thanks for all your support, I seriously needed it! I'm going to finish this story and I want to make it one the best Drake Chronicles fanfics ever, even if it means hunting down the books in my school library! As suggested, I'll try to include some chapters with the Drakes. And I'm also trying to hurry with updates for Samantha (Guest) who starts school this August. When you told me, I was like: You poor soul! Which monster makes students go to school in August, but then I found out that the majority of schools in America start school then. It's just plain unthinkable for me to start school that early, I usually start school on the 25****th**** September. Anyways, I'll try to upload as much as possible as next year will be a bitch. It will be like when Americans sit for their SATs to go to college for me… **

**I'll stop boring you… so enjoy:**

**Unforgivable Decisions (19)**

**+ LUCY +**

As Nick floored the gas pedal and drove off, despite the shouts of the hospital security guard, I looked up to the sky. The adrenalin of the events that had happened all too fast was still coursing through my system and I hoped that something as soothing as the evening sky could calm me down. Much to my dismay, my breathing was still coming out in long ragged pants. I felt sticky with sweat and my loose hair wasn't helping all that much.

I put a hand to my sticky neck. A dull pain ached as my hand made contact with the raw, pink skin. I retracted my hand in my lap. Blood.

"Shit." I breathed out as I opened the compartment in front of me and pulled out a couple of tissues from a box. I moved my hair to the other side of my neck and started dapping the wound with a tissue. I groaned in frustration when I realised that after the first two dabs the tissue was already soaked.

I heard a low growl come from beside me. "You're going to get the wound infected. Don't touch it. Can you handle that for a few moments till I find somewhere to stop the car?" he said. I couldn't put my finger on his exact emotion though anger seemed to be pretty close.

"You're angry." I pointed out uselessly. Nick snickered. "No, why should I be angry. Everything's just peachy. All we're missing are the fucking unicorns and rainbows."

I scowled at him. "No need to be sarcastic. You're not the one who may bleed to death." All of a sudden, the took a sharp right into a side street which I hadn't noticed before as it was curtained by the surrounding trees. I'm pretty sure that if anyone happened to drive down the main road, they wouldn't acknowledge that we could be here unless they knew of the existence of the street.

"You may be bleeding to death, but just so you know, I can still feel every single thing you're feeling." he started.

"Okay, you're right. That was low of me." I said in a small voice, unused to giving him any kind of credit.

He shook his head at me. "No, that isn't the least of my worries, really. It was the vampire that almost raped you that I'm worried about." He said, his voice rising with every word, making me wince.

"He's dead now." I muttered. He nodded, "Yes, he may be dead but that still doesn't tell me why out of all people in the whole state, a vampire had to choose _you. _Did he tell you anything? Did Lady Natasha send him?" he asked me, worry written all over his voice.

"I-" Truthfully I was at loss of words. What would he say if I told him that he mentioned my father? Would he believe me? Or would he laugh at me?

"Your neck is hurting you, isn't it? I can feel my own neck stinging from pain." He said. He motioned for me to sit on his lap. Gingerly, I moved into the crammed space of the sports car and tilted my neck at the perfect angle for him to inspect it.

After a pregnant moment of silence, Nick grunted. "What?" I asked him. In response he bit on his own wrist. "You've lost a lot of blood. Drink up. I'll neutralise the wound for you. Probably he left some of his venom as he was dying."

"Yeah, why did he die like that? Not that I'm not relieved." I asked him. He shrugged. "My best guess would be that since you're bonded with me, it makes your blood off limits to any other vampire. Now drink up." He held his bleeding wrist closer to my mouth, willing me to drink.

"Not just my blood." I muttered under my breath. He moved his wrist away. "Wait, what do you mean?

I shifted uncomfortably on top of him. He stopped me by pinning my wrists to his lap. "Answer me."

"I… he… when he tried to um, rape me, he was actually trying to make me feel um, aroused. But I literally just couldn't. I kept thinking of how disappointed you'd be which basically overpowered his physical touch." His silence troubled me more than any words could. I watched him as he bit on his wrist again as the wound had healed already and practically put his wrist to my mouth. I licked my lips, which were now stained with his blood. I started running my tongue along his wound, enjoying the fact how such a simple action could make him quiver with pleasure. I felt the wound clotting as his skin went back to it soft smoothness. I laid small kisses along what had once been his bite wound. He trembled before he moaned. I smiled in an evil manner, "You like this don't you?" He didn't need to answer, as I knew that he did. He was panting lowly, trying to make his small sounds as unnoticeable as possible. I smiled again as I wriggled till he let my wrists free. I shifted my position till I was straddling him. I leaned forwards to kiss his neck, loving the fact that for once, I was taking over of the situation. But he held me back.

With a steady, swift hand, he tiled my neck and started sucking at the wound. I gasped, as I couldn't believe how such a simple action could turn me on to this point. He sucked harder, making me moan. I felt disappointed when just as I was reaching pleasure he stopped sucking and started placing kisses down my neck. Not that I didn't enjoy the feel of his lips on my skin, it was just that it felt exhilarating giving him my blood. He must have noticed,

"I can't drink more, even though I want to. I'd have to give you my blood again which would be pointless." he said, but it was obvious that he wasn't really focusing on what he was saying. "I wouldn't mind." I muttered against his lips. "Of course you wouldn't. You're becoming a blood junkie, Lu-" I pressed my lips further into his. Our lips moulded together, and my body automatically arched up to meet his. I shifted as close as possible to him, making him moan. "You little tease." he said in a husky, lust filled voice. I grinned but my smile faltered into a look of pure lust when I felt his lips at my ear. He bit softly on my earlobe making me shudder with pleasure. "I have never been so scared in my life. As your emotions poured into me… I almost lost it. I felt your pain and all I wanted was to rip apart whatever was causing it. When I found that fucker trying to get his way with you, I really lost it. I must have scared you." he said earnestly. I shook my head. "To be honest, I was mystified by you. You looked so strong, you were freed from any façade you've ever put up." I felt the side of his lips quirk up. "Freed? I was baring my fangs in front of you. I know that my vampiric face is not a pretty sight."

"To be honest, I don't care." I said as I shifted my face to kiss him. "You should though. I could hurt you." I shook my head. "Again, I don't care."

He then cupped my face. "Say it," he almost begged. "What?" I asked him. His sudden drastic mood change scared me.

"Promise me you're mine and only mine." he said, sounding desperate now. Whenever I imagined this moment I hoped I'd be with the man of my dreams whom I would already have programmed my life with. I'd certainly never thought that something as stupid as a bond would make me feel like this. And to be honest, this was my biggest problem. I didn't know if my feelings for him and his feelings for me were provoked by the bond or if they were really there.

The more I looked in his grey eyes, so desperate and anxious for me to yield to him completely, the more I found my uncertainty growing. I had dreamed of this day, sure back than I had dismissed it as something caused by the intake of excessive booze, but still. In my vivid dream, I felt as if I would burst with happiness, then why was I feeling so depressed all of a sudden?

"What's wrong, Lucy?" he asked me. I closed my eyes and shook my head violently. I was starting to feel lightheaded again. But Nick knew what to do, as always. He forced my head against his chest as he caressed me and soothed me into silence. My breathing returned to normal and I no longer felt as if I would pass out at any moment. "Lucy, please answer me. I can't help you if you don't."

"It's the stupid bond. That's what makes you talk like that. That's where all this 'tell mw you're mine' bullshit came from. If it hadn't been for the bond, you wouldn't bother to look at me twice." I heard Nick chuckle as he placed a soft kiss on the crown of my head. I pushed against his chest, trying to get away from him. "What the hell is wrong with you?" I asked him, my voice sounding way too harsh.

"You seriously think that all of this is just an effect of the bond? You are really thick then, Lucky." he said laughingly. I failed to find any hint of humour in this situation.

"Sometimes I wonder how someone as smart as you can be so unobservant." I punched him in the shoulder. Hard. "Stop talking in code. Or else I'm getting up and I'll walk all the way to my house on my own." I opened his door but just as I was about to step outside, he pushed be back inside with one tug on my arm. He leaned down and crashed his lips to mine. I hated the fact how with just one kiss he could make me forgive every single one of his faults, but at the same time I loved the feel it gave me, as if warmth was spreading through me.

"I starting falling for you when you were fourteen. You were the first girl I have crushed on. But I knew that because of the whole, vampire-human state I could never tell you how I felt, but I still loved teasing you- in fact I still do. It's why we bonded in the first place. Nature isn't stupid, it would need us deeply attracted to each other to make as many kids as possible. The bond just enhances what we feel. If you're attracted to me, it's not the bond which makes you feel like that. It's you." I smiled as I caressed his hands which were now cupping my face. "I don't know if it's just a heat of the moment thing, but I think I'm in love with you, Lucky." My mouth was hanging open by now but it slowly quirked up in a smile. I could see the uncertainty in his eyes. He looked unsure if he had done the right thing by confessing his feelings.

I removed any uncertain feelings or seed of doubt when I kissed him softly on his lips and hugged him.

"I'm yours Nicky. Only yours."

**XXX**

**Hope you enjoyed it! Nick and Lucy don't act mushy so enjoy it while it lasts! Next chap will be in Nick's POV for sure.**


	20. A Trip Down Memory Lane

**Okay, first things first, HAPPY LATE BIRTHDAY TO ELLIE aka. PrincessPurplee! Hope you had the best b-day filled with muffins and nutella and all the good stuff in the world :D I always seem to update a day or two late, don't I. Well, that's a fact about me. I'm a late person. I can't be on time to save my life. Anyways, I seem to be making a habit out of this birthday wishes. So today's question is, when's your birthday? :P I'll upload a chapter and dedicate to you guys on the glorious day of your birth :P**

**I'll start! I was born on 30th March :D I'll be 16 next March. 1997 FTW! Anyways, excuse my randomness. Just to warn you guys, I caught an ugly ear infection which was why I wasn't able to update yesterday. It made me cry… which is why the chapter might be a little confusing. Let's just say that I had to work with about 65 % of my brain only. Tell me if something confuses you and I'll clear it right up : )**

**Enjoy:**

**Unforgivable Decisions: 20: A Trip Down Memory Lane.**

**+Nick+**

"Nick… Nick you've been staring blankly at me for the past minute. You can't do that while you're driving, you know." At the sound of Lucy's voice, I woke up from my daydreaming. I wasn't worried one bit about the road ahead of us. The hospital was a good drive away from our lonely farmhouse in the countryside so we were currently on the highway. What was worrying me though was that vampire. I couldn't shake off the feeling that he wasn't the last one we'd see. If he wasn't one of Lady Natasha's dogs and obviously no member of the Helios-Ra, there could only be one more person to send a vampire, clearly inexperienced, following _Lucy. _

Montmartre.

But it just didn't fit the puzzle. Why Lucy? Surely Montmarte wasn't desperate enough that he would use a human to reach Solange.

But now that I repeated it in my head, I realised what an absurdity I had just thought of. This is _Montmarte _we're talking about. He has no scruples when it comes to reaching his goals. It was the perfect plan. Sol would give in to every single one of his demands if Lucy's life had been at stake.

"Come on, spit it out, what's wrong?" she asked in irritation. But she couldn't fool me, though her voice might have seemed irritated but as I glanced back at her, worry was written all over her beautiful face. _A face that might have been ashen white by now had you not known where she was through the bond. A bond that up to this very morning we both hated. _As I remembered how fast this morning had turned into a catastrophe, I shook my head in disbelief. I found it hard to believe that everything had happened in the span of four hours.

_I remembered myself narrowing my eyes as I read her text. Did she really just call me a whiny bitch? Look who's talking, the Princess of Bitchlandia, Bitchtopia and Megabitchtropolis all at once. I sighed as I put my phone away on the dresser. I squirmed and shifted uncomfortably in the bed trying to find a comfortable position. Without Lucy next to me, the bed was too big, too cold. After ending up face down on the pillow I gave up on any hopes of sleeping. I groaned in the pillow. _

"_Dude! Do you mind? I'm trying to sleep here!" I heard Logan say just a second before a pillow hit me. _

"_Go away Logan, I'm not in the mood." I muttered darkly as I bothered to look up to glare at him. He was standing in the doorway, half asleep, glaring back at me._

_He looked at me with pitying eyes. If there is one thing I couldn't stand it was pity. "Seriously Logan. Out" I growled at him._

_"Okay, what's wrong?" he said as he sat down, much to my dismay. I buried my face in my hands, unable to look at him in a moment of weakness. I was unused to this feeling._

"_Have you ever been obsessed with something, Logan. Have you ever been obsessed to a point where you feel yourself being eaten away and replaced with a stranger, a sappy, love struck stranger?" I asked him._

_He smiled empathically. "Lucy?" he asked. I nodded. It was surprising how a simple four-lettered word could explain the confusion and frustration I felt._

"_Well bro, there's not much I can tell you that can be useful to you, mainly because I've never been in love but-"_

"_Wait, _you_'ve never been in love. Mr. Ladies Man." I asked in bewilderment._

_Logan just snorted. "What I did was playing the field. But you my friend, you're in love." My eyes widened. Was it possible that I was in love with Lucy? _

_My eyebrows furrowed as I reminisced how simple my life had been when the only thing I saw in Lucy was a nuisance. Come to think of it, what happened to that slovenly tomboyish girl with braces that hit almost as hard as I did? What happened to those days when all we did was play and when either of us cheated the other would start a fight. _

_Ah yes, puberty happened. _

I smiled as I remembered a flashback within a flashback. Flashbackception rule the world!

_I had just turned thirteen and Lucy and Sol were twelve at the time. I remember spending an entire day out in the woods with them. Usually Logan would come with us, but he had a date, which at that time was quite something that made me look up to him in awe. I was thirteen and I had never had a girlfriend._

Well, you're seventeen now and you've never had a girlfriend either. Not much improvement in that department, I thought scornfully.

_Anyways, we had been caught in the rain and the closest place to take refuge was the shed. But by the time we had reached the shed we were all drenched. After a whole hour the rain hadn't stopped and was beating down ferociously on the earth below it. We were all shaking with cold, out teeth shattering. After a little bit of exploring, we managed to find a blanket, but we realised quite soon that it wouldn't help to keep us warm when our soaking wet clothes kept a layer of coldness in contact with our bodies. I had removed my shirt and took the musty blanket for myself. I remember how angry Sol and Lucy had been with me. Lucy, being the most short tempered one of all, had done the unthinkable. She had stripped down to her sports bra and polka dotted underwear and made me share the blanket with her. I had been stunned._

_Let's just say that Lucy was an early bloomer, and by the time she was thirteen, her body was already curvier than most girls I knew, and her chest was definitely larger. Let's just say that by the time the storm had passed. I had skilfully studied every curve on her body without her noticing. She hadn't realised that though what she did was completely innocent, she had stirred up my friend downstairs for the first time. I had trouble hiding the fact that I was aroused, and I had been embarrassed that _she _had made me feel like that. _

"_Nick… I'm going back to bed. You try to get some sleep 'kay?" my brother said softly as a yawn interrupted him. I nodded and after he left the room, I tried to go back to bed. _

_That's when I felt it. Lucy's alarm flow through her emotions. I sat up straight, unable to think of anything else. I put on a shirt and a pair of jeans as quickly as possible. I flew down the stairs to my car. My destination had been her school, up till the moment I remembered that she had told me that she had a fieldtrip. I swore using language that would get me grounded for a month. I grabbed my phone and called her. After just one ring she hung up on me. Maybe she was in class? I doubted it, by now they would definitely be on the road. I felt her panic increase within me then… nothing. That is when _I_ began to panic. For three whole hours I roamed the streets in despair. I even went to check if she was at her mothers. Let's just say that the experience left me scarred for life. Before I had even knocked on the door I heard "Faster, harder, harder. Pull my hair just like I like it baby. That's right, get me on my knees so that I can suck-"_

_That's pretty much when I ran to my car and drove like hell's demons themselves were unleashed and were after me. I knew that Lucy would rather slit her own throat than be within five miles of her mother and her husband, and frankly, no creature with ears would blame her._

_I was going mad. I had no solid lead and Lucy's emotions had shut down completely. When I was truly at the brink of crying, I felt her emtions flare at once, and just like that I _felt _her. I followed my instinct, the bond doing the work and guiding me. Even in that horrid hospital room with smelled completely of disinfectant, Lucy had never seemed more beautiful, not even on that cold stormy evening back when I was thirteen._

"Holy shit! Nick we just barely escaped crashing in that Volvo by mere inches! Could you be more carefully please? I swear you're going to give me a heart atta-" that's when I crashed my lips to hers, teasing her a little. I could feel her need to kiss me back, but by the way her lips were trembling I also knew that she was scared.

"Can you relax? Driving is one of the things I do best. If I'll ever crash, that's when hell will freeze over." I said as I pulled away and returned my eyes to the road.

"Nicky, you'd better thank your luck stars that I'm not dating you for your astounding humbleness, otherwise we'd be so over." She said as she held back on the laughter. I poked her in the ribs, making her squirm and begging me to stop. I smirked, knowing that she'd never dare to 'distract' me by poking back. I seriously hope that you have a tank full of gas, cause when you stop I'm going to poke you and tickle you so much, you'll have to beg me to stop.

"Well, I'm sorry to disappoint you but my car has a-" That's when I noticed the fuel meter almost empty and a little light flashing furiously.

"An empty gas tank." Lucy finished flatly. I narrowed my eyes at her.

"You did this, didn't you? You somehow managed to do this!" I said in irritation. I hated looking like a fool in front of her. We may be dating – or something close to that – but we certainly would never stop the bickering. It was simply unthinkable.

"How can possible I have anything to do with this? It's called karma, you whiny bitch. Now, do you remember where the nearest station is?" she asked me. I sighed in frustration.

"Five miles away." I muttered under my breath. Lucy groaned.

"Of course." I said as I hit the steering wheel in anger. "This is just my luck. I'd been born with this curse. When I was five, I accidentally super-glued my hands to the toilet seat. It surely gave the doctors at the emergency room something to laugh about for days. When I was seven and dad took me and my brothers camping, I fell face first in a bunch of poison oak leaves. I'm prone to bad luck." I said as I rested my head on the steering wheel, accidentally hitting the horn. Some jerk passed by us and flipped us off.

"Oh don't say that!" Lucy tried to reassure me. She patted my back but I still felt like shit. "I was born Lucky, apparently. Maybe some of that will rub off on you. Come on, park the car on the side. We're walking, so I hope you brought your walking shoes. I don't want to hear you bitch all the way to your house." She said to me.

"I don't bitch! Just complain in a manly fashion." I retorted. She smiled an unconvincing little smile as she patted me twice on the shoulder.

"Sure you do." She said as she bit her lip. I parked my car to the side. She exited out of the car, swinging her cute butt as she walked. Oh, I'd surly like to slap something in a manly fashion.


	21. Uncontrollable Urges

**Chapter 21**

**+ NICK +**

"Nick…"

"Yeah Lucy?"

"Are you sure we're going the right way? I've never been through this part of the woods and it's getting darker by the minute." she said as she glanced nervously around her. I smirked at her.

"What? Is somebody afraid of being alone in the dark where there might be vampires running around?" I teased her. She laughed flatly. "Well, not really. I hear that they're just idiots dipped in glitter now a days."

I gasped melodramatically at her. "Shame on you. We had an unspoken rule in the house. You may never, _ever _mention or make references to that god awful movie."

She grinned. "What? Can't handle it's manliness you little wussy? Not man enough to compete with Edward. Well, I don't blame you, he's every girl's sparkly dream." she said as she sighed.

I glared at her. "Are you trying to be funny? They've taken my entire species and turned us into pasty, glittery idiots with photo shopped abs, well, guess what honey, this is the real deal." I said as I lifted my shirt to reveal my stomach. Lucy tried to look unimpressed, but I could feel her eyes tracing every plain of my body and I couldn't help but bask in her attention.

When she noticed my smirk, she started booing me. "What? No eight pack? Rip-off" she said.

"I may not have an eight pack, but I'm all muscle baby." I said, trying to seem cool yet failing miserable. I heard her light laugh as she turned around and jogged up in front of me. I placed a hand on my forehead. _How could she turn me into such a love struck puppy with a few witty words?_

I hurried my pace and caught up with her. We spent a few minutes in silence before we heard the unmistakable crack of thunder. Both of our head turned upwards to the heavens. Lucy groaned.

"Fan-fucking-tactic." she complained.

"Come on, I need to get you out of the cold. Soon it will be raining cats and dogs and the last thing we both need is for you to get a cold. You'd get gross and turn into this snot monster. Not attractive at all. Plus it would be hard for me to kiss you while you're always blowing your nose." I told her as I playfully grabbed her from behind and stopped her from continuing walking further.

"Who said I'd want to kiss you in the first place. In fact, get your hands off me, you sparkly idiot." she said with a smile on her lips as I teased her and placed small kisses at the tip of her nose.

"I'll show you sparkly idiot," I said as I grabbed her from behind and put an arm beneath her knees so that I could lift her up bridal style. I'll admit, I may be stronger than the average human, but her weight still took its toll on me after running at my full speed. I had my home in mind, but once it started raining, quite heavily, might I add, I decided that we needed to seek refuge as soon as possible.

And I knew just the place.

I stopped running once a familiar shed stood before us. As I forced my way inside by kicking the door and breaking the lock off, Lucy got off me. She shook her body like a little Chihuahua shaking the water off its body. Well, in this case, a very sexy Chihuahua.

"I am dripping wet," she groaned as she twisted her hair and let the water drip of the tips. "And I'm cold." she concluded glumly as her teeth chattered.

"Want me to warm you up?" I said huskily as I shook of my own shaggy black hair, which kept dripping water droplets into my eyes.

"G-g-get away f-f-from m-m-me." she said as she sat down on the dusty floor and hugged her knees to her chest. "I'm tired and you're distracting me from my sleep." she shuddered as her teeth barely allowed her to talk.

"Well, sorry, I just didn't want you to get sick," I said softly as I sat opposite to her.

"And what the hell crawled up your ass and died? You were joking and smiling just a few minutes ago." I said a little bit more harshly.

"Nick, it's almost night time and the air has suddenly turned cold as a witch's tit. I'm soaking wet and after an entire day of unpleasant surprises and being bitten and almost killed, all I wanted tonight was to make a hot chocolate and crawl into my bed in Sol's room and just die." she muttered sounding pained.

"Hey, are you alright? Is your neck hurting you?" I asked her. She barely looked up. "My neck's a little sore, but I can live with it. Nick, have you ever had a really bad feeling? That something really bad is coming our way?" she asked me. I snorted.

"Ever since we bonded all I've been getting are bad feelings. Just imagine, whenever you feel the slightest bit distressed, the only thing my mind does is try to figure out what I can do to help you. It took everything in me to let you get off my car and go to school with all those hormone infested boys." I said with a little smile on my lips as I grabbed her off the cold floor and placed her gently on my lap. She smiled back weakly.

"Wait, let me try to find something for you to put on instead of that dress. It's soaked." I muttered as I swiftly laid her back on the floor and set on a search for something to warm her up. I pushed my hair back once more, making a mental note to get it cut as soon as I could, as it was becoming a pain in the ass.

The shed was full of old tools that no body used anymore. It had been abandoned for ages. My parents had always wanted to restore it and turn it into a man cave for my brothers and me. My mother would get frustrated with hearing plasma grenades and snipers rack havoc on the virtual battlefield of our televisions while we played video games and hearing guys shooting and dodging bullets while the rest of us watched action packed films. But they never got around to do it. After searching every single corner of the shed, all I came up with was a musty cover for dad's old fishing set.

"Here," I said as I wrapped the cover around her. She shook her head at me, "I'm still wet and sticky, Nick." she complained. I grinned as I remembered a very familiar situation.

"Do you remember?" I said to her out of the blues as I sat in front of her. She looked at me with furred eyebrows. "Four years ago we found ourselves in the same situation." Her eyes widened as she reminisced about that day.

She grinned. "I knew you'd find a way to get me out of my dress. But let's follow the pattern. You need to take your shirt off first."

I grinned and pulled my soaking wet shirt up. I wrapped the blanket around my shoulders and looked straight into her eyes, which were sparkling with mischief.

"Ah, toasty." I said as rubbed my hands together for warmth. She smiled at me and muttered, "God, I can't believe I'm going to this," as she leaned forwards and crashed her lips to mine with a force that made me shudder at her touch. I kissed her back, trailing my tongue softly across her bottom lip. I could feel the need behind her lips, which gave me courage to do the next step. I pulled her dress' sleeve down and helped her shrug out of her dress till it pooled at her waist as we were sitting down. We never broke the kiss, but I just had to open my eyes to get a small peek at the most beautiful girl I'd ever laid eyes on, whom I was lucky enough to hold in my arms.

The sight made me toes curl. Lucy's ivory skin matched the violet lace of her bra perfectly, making her look almost unearthly. I was shy and for one moment I felt extremely awkward. Could I touch her? Should I? Would she be expecting me to touch her or would she get offended punch me in the face and possibly in the nuts and storm of almost naked into the rain.

It took so long for me to form a coherent thought that she took the first step. As she placed soft kisses on my neck, leading down to my collarbone, I slipped my hand over her lace-covered chest. I felt her breath deeply at my ear as I squeezed a little. I lowered my mouth to her neck and scrapped my teeth across her delicate skin.

Things got heated quickly. My lips were ravishing hers impulsively. I had lost control as I lay there inhaling her sweet scent and tasting her flavour off her flushed skin. "I want you." I breathed deeply after she broke our kiss for a second to allow her to breath. My hands were roaming the upper part of our body. I needed to feel every inch of her skin under my demanding touch. I wanted her and had she not stopped me, I wouldn't have hesitated it to take her along with both our virginities in this old abandoned shed.

"Stop… Nick please… we need to stop before it's too late." she muttered as she tried to push my demanding lips away. I didn't mind- I just went a bit lower.

That's when I felt Lucy's hand connect with my cheek. I looked up at her as I rubbed my stinging cheek. "What was that for, I thought we were having a moment!" I said in annoyance.

"Well, it seemed like more than just a moment for you… and I guess I might have gotten carried away too. But I'm telling you, Nick we need to be careful. We need to control our urges, despite the fact that it won't be easy as this bond makes it harder. But we need to keep in mind the consequences. What if we'd really gone all the way? What if I would have gotten pregnant? It's the primary reason for the bond in the first place, so that I can pop little vampires outa me? Would you be ready to be a daddy at seventeen? Plus, imagine me pregnant and all the mood swings I'd have." she asked me with wide eyes.

I could feel my eyes almost trying to pop out of their sockets. I was left speechless, so all I did was put Lucy's dress back on as quickly as I could. I did the same with my shirt and looked away. My body was still shaking in anticipation and I couldn't think straight. Half of me, the rational part was telling me that she was completely right, but the rest of me, particularly my friend downstairs couldn't disagree more. So I just looked out of the window and tried to forget that she was with me in the first place, at least till my hormones settled down.

Minutes passed and nobody dared to say anything. But Lucy seemed to have enough of it. She sat down next to me and took my hand in hers. "Hey, don't you think that this is as hard on me as it is on you? There's nothing to be ashamed of. But we can't rush into things we can't control. We need to learn how to master the bond first," she said as she caressed my cheek with her soft hands. I held her hand to my face and nodded as I looked back at her.

"Plus, I didn't really want to lose my virginity on the filthy floor at sixteen. Let's wait and do this properly. I promise you, we won't regret it," she said reasonably as she placed a soft kiss on my cheek.

"You are really more smart than I've ever gave you credit for, Lucky." I teased her with her old nickname to lighten the mood. She scowled at me, but I knew that she wasn't really angry.

"Look! It's not raining anymore! Let's get the hell out of here!" she said cheerfully as she grabbed my hand and led me outside.

He went behind me and latched onto my back before straddling me from behind. "Onwards, my trusty steed." she said in a powerful tone. I shook my head but still placed my hands behind her knees to support her as mush as possible. "I'm not your pack mule, you know!" I grumbled lightly at her. She grabbed two fistfulls of my hair and used it to guide me where I should go. So much for complaining. My manhood stung beyond repair, but for once, I was happier than I'd ever been. There was just something about Lucy's company that made me act out of my usually dull and frustrated character. With her, every sense of anxiety or helplessness disappeared during moments like these.

A few more minutes and kicks on my butt to make me move faster, we finally arrived at my house. Lucy insisted to be carried inside and after several arguments, I agreed to carry her inside on the condition that I could ask her one question anytime I want and she would have to answer me, even if she doesn't want to. By now I figured that I knew almost everything about Lucy so I didn't think I would need it, but something in her eyes told me that what I thought about her was not true and that there was much more to Lucy that I didn't even know.

I entered the house with Lucy still on my back, laughing at something she had just said. I was laughing with her too till I heard a familiar astounded voice.

"Nick? Lucy? Are you two… what's going on here?"

I was stumped. I could barely open my mouth, let alone speak. Thankfully Lucy wasn't as tongue tied as I was.

"Hey Helena."

Well, this was going to be an interesting thing to explain to my mother.

**xxx**

**Hey guys sorry this isn't proof-read. I tried so many times to write this chapter but I had a terrible author's block, even though I have every single chapter planned :S. As I've probably already mentioned, this is going to be a decisive school year for me so I will try to finish this story by December… wish me luck : )**

**Hope you enjoyed it! Don't forget to drop your thoughts in the box below : )**


	22. The Boss is back in Town

**UD: Chapter 22: The Boss is back in Town**

**+ LUCY +**

I stared into Helena's wide baffled eyes. Liam was next to her looking even more surprised and flabbergasted than her, if that was even possible.

"Nick… Lucy? Is… is it even possible? We left you bickering about which Fast and Furious movie was the best and now… " Liam stated as he stared at us. "So the world is really ending, good to know." he mumbled beneath his breath.

"Look Mum, we can explain!" Nick started as he quickly slid me off his back.

"Yes, explain then. This ought to be interesting. Because it seems pretty obvious what's going on here. Just one question, how long has this been going on?" Helena said as she shot us a disapproving look.

"You don't understand, mum. This past week has been hectic. Lucy's mum got married and…"

"Really, Lucy? Your mum got married? That was quite sudden, how are you talking it?" Helena's soft side emerged.

"Oh, it's alright. But as Nick was saying, after the wedding my brother was drunk and he stabbed me." I heard both of them gasp at this.

"Are you alright now?" Liam asked me quickly, his eyes wide.

I nodded. "But only because Nick saved me. If it hadn't been for him he would have probably killed me. Nick gave me his blood and saved me." If I thought that I had their attention earlier, now I knew for sure that I had their whole undivided attention.

I continued before either of them could interrupt. "And even though his blood did save me, it also created some uh… difficulties." I said, finding it extremely hard to finish the sentence.

"What difficulties?" Helena asked as she eyed both Nick and me sceptically. I glanced back to a frowning Nick. I looked at him with an unspoken question in my eyes. Who would tell them about the bond? His eyes were almost unreadable and the bond was feeding me so many emotions from him that it almost felt like a whirlpool inside my head, about to crush my skull.

"We're bonded, mum. My blood formed a blood bond between us." Nick cut to the chase. Both adults looked at us in horror, too awestruck to even move. It was Helena who spoke first and her voice was so low that I could barely hear it.

"You _bonded _with a human! When you turned didn't your father and I warn you not to give humans your blood until you could handle it." She kept increasing the sound of her voice with every syllable so by now she was practically screaming. "Look at what you did! Do you know how dangerous this is, for the both of you? You could have taken her to the hospital if you wanted to help her!"

"But there was no time! She would have bled to death!" Nick yelled back, making his mother's left eye twitch at his disrespect.

"What do you mean Lucy and Nick are blood bonded?" A new voice joined in. I bit my lip at the sound of her voice. _Solange. "_Lucy, I want to know what's happening, and I want to know now. You've never been this distant from me. I knew something was up when Nick mysteriously shot out of the house after saying your name. You wouldn't even answer your phone." Sol said with determination as she crossed her arms in front of her chest. I turned around with a sigh to look at her honest, sky blue eyes and instantly felt guiltier.

"Sol, I wanted to tell you but we decided it would be best to keep it a secret till your change. We didn't want you to worry about me." I said weakly.

Sol fumed, "Don't give me that crap, Lucy. As your best friend, I need to know if something's wrong with you, especially if it concerns my brother too." she said and glanced at Nick accusingly. Nick looked down, not wanting to get caught between the two of us.

"Fine then. You want to know what happened after the wedding, Sol? Josh stabbed me. Nick gave me his blood and saved me but crated this annoying bond between us called a blood bond." I said, trying to keep my tears from spilling. It hurt me to keep things from Sol and it hurt me even more to tell her everything because I knew that right now she just couldn't anything except for the impending change.

Sol stared at me, wide eyed. "But you're okay now, aren't you?" she told me, her concern and compassion flowed with her words. I nodded. "Don't worry about me, Sol. I should be the least of your problems right now."

"I can't. You're my best friend, Lucy." she said, her voice breaking down after she said my name. I smiled at her and we both approached each other and wrapped our arms around each other. I hugged her for all I was worth and sniffled on her shoulder and tried to stay strong while she cried freely on me. She knew that I was soaking wet but she didn't seem to care.

After our moment, we broke away and smiled at each other like we used to as little kids after one of us confessed something.

"Um, Solange, I think it's better if you go upstairs. This matter has to be handled immediately." Liam spoke with authority. Sol nodded and after one last quick hug, she went back upstairs. Helena sighed while her husband set down at the kitchen table and told us to sit down. We did as we were told and I had a feeling that they were going to play bad cop, good cop. By the look of her, I knew instantly that Helena was the bad cop. She had a very dark look.

"So, how exactly did you find out about the blood bond? How did you simply assume that you were indeed blood bound together? If you did your research you should know that it is extremely rare." Liam began.

Nick grunted. "We asked Will. After I gave her my blood, her heart slowed down significantly and I was afraid that I had killed her or turned her into a Hel-bar, bur after a while it speeded to almost as fast as it had been before the whole ordeal happened." Nick started to explain. "Will researched Lucy's symptoms and we came down with the conclusion that we were really blood bound."

"Were there other symptoms?" Helena asked us bluntly. I looked back at Nick and his eyes told me that this question was all mine. I could assume him saying to himself that there was no way that he would be the one to tell his parents about the animalistic attraction or the blood lust from both of us.

"Well, first it started with a deep attraction. I did kind of like Nick before everything, but I never dreamed of acting upon it. And from what he told me I think that Nick liked me too but none of us were ready to act upon a little crush." Nick nodded to back me up. "Now we find it almost painful to be without each other. That's what led to the emotional part of the bond. We can feel each other's feelings."

"I can even track her down through her feelings. It's really weird. Most of the time I feel like a compass and she is my north. While she was at school I couldn't even sleep without her close." Nick added. Liam nodded while Helena was tapping her fingernails impatiently against the wooden table and urging us to talk on.

"Apart from that there's the blood lust." I said in a small voice.

"Blood lust?" Helena asked her husband with wide eyes. Even he seemed to be surprised.

"From both sides." I added. Helena's eyes turned almost saucer-like while Liam nodded. "Of course it makes sense. It would strengthen the bond if they shared a sip of blood every once in a while."

After that everyone fell silent. I could almost feel Helena and Liam's brain going on overload as they tried to find loopholes. Nick's hand found mine underneath the table. He kept drawing circles on my palm and grasp my hand a bit tighter every now and then. I smiled a little at him. He traced the words 'I LOVE YOU' on my skin. I mouthed 'I love you too' and for a short moment I forgot that we were still being questioned as I was already leaning up to kiss him.

It was Helena's words that interrupted me. "Is there a way to break the bond?" Nick shot to his feet, his hand grasping mine tightly. "I won't let you break the bond. I love Lucy, mom" he said firmly. His eyes were shining and the emotions he was transmitting to me were enough to make a single proud tear fall freely down my cheek.

"I... Nick the bond isn't letting you think straight. I may not know much about it but I know that its main purpose is for you two to procreate. Maybe in the olden days it wasn't that bad for a couple of teenagers to have kids, but nowadays, it would ruin your chance at a career and a normal life. I want both of you to think it through clearly and tell me that you're ready for that sacrifice." Helena challenged.

"Helena, we already considered this. In fact, our first thought was about how we could break it. There are no steps we could follow to break it, but one thing is certain, it would be very painful for both of us. We will try to take it slow and we'll do all we can to control the bond." I said shyly as I tried to hold Helena's eye contact.

Helena's sharp features softened, "Dear, don't think that I'm not eager about this bond because of you. In fact, I'm glad that out of all humans, you were bonded with him. Not many human girls are strong enough to handle our word, but you showed that you were worthy from the beginning." I smiled back at her.

"We will need to discuss further in the future, but for the time being, I need both of you to be on your best behaviour, and I don't mean just about the bickering. As Helena said, the last thing you need is to get Lucy pregnant. You… you didn't make love yet, did you?" Liam asked us in a reserved voice. I felt heat rush to my cheeks. I looked down, pretending that suddenly the wooden table had become interesting. I denied it quickly, but Nick wasn't as smooth as me.

"No, I mean, not yet. We did come pretty close but no…" he said. I looked up to give him an are-you-freaking-kidding-me look but he too had lowered his head as a cute pink blush crept itself under his ashen white cheeks.

"Well, we're not taking any chances. The first step in mastering this bond will be to learn to live with the anxiety. Don't think that just because I like Lucy you two are going to get a free pass to mess around in the same bed. For now, you two shouldn't be trusted in the same room alone. We'll tell the boys too so that they can help us out with that." Helena said determinately.

Nick's eyes went wide. "No, Mum, please leave my brothers out of this! I'd never hear the end of it if you tell them."

Liam smirked at his desperate son and I couldn't help but laugh at them. "Son, trust me, you won't be able to control yourselves on your own, you'll need help. It's bad enough having to deal with your teenage hormones, let alone adding this bond to the mess."

Nick looked up to the heavens wit a groan. "Kill me now." he muttered. "Well, now that Nick has a girlfriend I think it would be okay to start the humiliation."

"What?" Nick said with a sharp voice. His mother smiled almost cynically.

"It's what we parents live for, sweetie. Come on Lucy, let me show you some of Nick's pictures from when he was being potty trained. And I think I also have a picture of the time he glued the toilet seat to his hands. I had been so mad at him but it gave the doctors at the ER something to laugh about." I followed her with a smile on my face before winking at the poor, speechless Nick.

"Aw, I want to see a picture of Nicky making a boom-boom and a wee-wee." I said. All three of us laughed as Nick buried his hands in his face in shame and humiliation.

Oh, but my dear Nicky, this was just the beginning.

xxx

**I feel extremely guilty for the long wait. I'll try to fall back into schedule and update 1 or 2 times a week, since I'll start school next Monday. I'll start writing the next chapter once I post this one. Get ready for some yummy Drake brothers galore :D**

**Thanks for All of your support, even though I really don't deserve half of it! Stay Awesome!**


	23. Boys' Night

Chapter 23: Boys' Night

+ NICK+

My head hung low as Lucy and my mother made their way up the stairs. I knew that evil grin on my mother's forehead. She had the very same grin when she showed Logan's first girlfriend a picture of him in a full diaper. By the time my mum was through with all the photos, I'd never hear the end of it from Lucy and her sarcastic comments. I sighed in defeat and grabbed a bottle of blood from the fridge. I poured the contents in the mug and microwaved it till it was just right. I hadn't noticed that my father was still in the kitchen till he spoke out.

"Nicholas, is there anything else you'd like to tell me about this whole deal, perhaps something that you weren't comfortable sharing with Lucy or your mother?" my father asked me as he sat adjacent to me. After the time spent with Lucy in the shed I had forgotten a very important, vital thing to tell them.

"Dad, a vampire attached Lucy. He acted like her new teacher and when he found her alone, he tried to bite her. He told me that he was the one who was supposed to have her and attacked me then. He did mange to bit her cause he was too quick for me, but her blood poisoned him. It was like nothing I had ever seen before. Plus, I have no idea whom the vampire was or who he worked for. He definitely didn't seem like an Arkansas." I told him calmly. It took a few moments for my father to process the new information, and that really is saying something.

"I'm glad you told me, Nick. From now on I think it's best if you and Lucy try to avoid the outside world and each other. It's no longer safe. I will try to force your brothers into staying with you to make sure that you steer clear of Lucy." I grimaced at his words. The last thing I wanted was to distance myself from her. She was like a drug to me, I couldn't go on for very long if I don't get my fix.

"Nick, I'm serious. I know that you probably feel that you're in love with her and I respect that. But the bond will make you lust after her more than your hormones already do." my father said matter-of-factly. I looked at him with an incredulous look at his choice of words.

"Oh don't give me that look. It was as obvious as day. Everybody knew you liked Lucy way before the bond. Teasing her and making her life miserable was just your way of showing your affection. Where do you think you got that trait from, kid?" he said with a twinkle in his grey eyes. For a swift moment, I saw myself in my father.

"Anyways, as I was saying, the bond will make you want to um… show your love to her in a physical manner." I instantly broke eye contact with my dad after that sentence. Ugh, it was the birds and the bees talk all over again!

"Or maybe it has already…" my father let on. My eyes flew open. "_No!"_ I shouted a bit more loudly than it was needed. "No it hasn't. We came close but we never actually went through with the real deal."

My father nodded. "Good. I'll need to conduct some business downtown and ask around, perhaps I can get some information about any new vampires in this area. It's a pressing issue that has to be dealt with as soon as possible. I'll need to explain everything to your mother. She definitely won't be thrilled about this. We had a very tiring week at your aunt's." he told me, speaking more to himself than to me.

"If it isn't Mr Whipped," I heard Logan say as he entered the kitchen. I turned to face him as I got my mug out of the microwave.

"Dude, you can call me whipped all you want, I'm the one getting some, not you." I said with a smirk. I knew that Lucy would skin me alive if she heard me talk like that about her. Her feminist side was terrible when somebody even hinted at objectifying her. My brothers found that the hard way when they commented about how her ass 'looked out of this word' when she wore yoga pants once.

"Boys, please, you know your mother and I don't condone this kind of language." my dad said with a disapproving tone. But in his eyes I could see a little twinkle of mischief. After all, he had been a teenager once too.

"I'll let it slide this time. Anyways, it's good you're here Logan, I hope you haven't made plans already."

Logan narrowed his eyes at our dad. "No, why do you ask?"

"Because Nick here needs a babysitter and guess who's the unlucky victim." My dad said with a grin. Logan's eyes widened. "No way! I take it back; I'm going on a date. Find some other poor soul." Logan said while he stepped away from us. I couldn't help but frown a little. Was I that bad to be around?

"Oh, come on, Logan, I need you and your brothers to make sure that Nick stays away from Lucy, especially during the night."

"So because he can't keep it in his pants I have to babysit the guy." Logan said incuriously.

"Hey, I'm still in the room!" I said to them. Nobody seemed to notice.

"Please Logan." my dad said desperately. Logan sighed as by now, it was obvious that dad got what he wanted.

"Fine." Logan said solemnly. "Hey, maybe you can get Quinn and Conner to join you and you can go camping tonight."

The twins walked in the kitchen just at the right time. "You summoned us, father?" Connor asked jokingly. "Yes, as a matter of fact, I did. I need you two and Logan to look after Nick for tonight. Your mother and I have some business to conduct. I need you guys to make sure that Nick doesn't sneak into Lucy's room."

"Sure. It's been a while since we hanged out a bit. Plus, the recent developments with Lucy just gave us something to torment him about. I'm all up for it." Quinn said with a wicked grin. Logan's spirits lifted. "Hey, I hadn't thought about that."

I buried my face in my hands. This was going to be a very long night.

"Very well then, I'll get going. You kids have fun." Dad said as he went upstairs, probably to inform mum about the latest news.

"Okay, so any of you are up for camping?" I asked them. Truthfully, I didn't want to be that far away from Lucy. Even though I knew that within a few hours I'd be dying to go lay down next to her and finally catch up on some Zs, it reassured me that she was safe in the same building I was in. God, since when did I become such a wuss? Even to my own ears, I sound like a freaking girl on her period. I shuddered at the thought. That was it. I wanted – no, needed - to get Lucy out of my head for a few hours. This new, whipped version on me was really getting on my nerves. Stupid freaking bond.

"Not really." Logan said as a smile started pulling at the sides of his mouth. "I was thinking more about this," he said as he pulled out a couple bottles of bloody wine. It was the closest to alcohol vampires could ever get. It involved a difficult process of incorporating some of the best wine imported from France with human blood. It was a rare concoction that only dad knew how to make. I was curious to know how he had managed to get his hands on those couple of bottles, but I decided that it was best to stay out of it. They don't say that ignorance is bliss for nothing.

"Score!" Quinn said as he high-fived his twin. "You're awesome dude." Connor complimented a proud Logan who's chest was already swelling.

"You're also dead if Dad finds out so keep your voices down and let's head to the home theatre before you get us busted." I said rationally.

"Ah, Nick, still the party pooper, I see. Even Lucy couldn't change that. I feel for you bro, you're stuck with such a boring character." Logan told me as the four of us started making our way downstairs to the home theatre. I shook my head as we proceeded. Sometimes I wondered who war really the eldest between Logan and I.

"I honestly don't feel like talking about Lucy with anyone, so I'd appreciate it if you changed the subject." I said rather grimly as we approached.

"Oh come on, Nick. Loosen up, you know we're just messing with you." Connor said as he patted my shoulder.

"So, what are we going to watch? Harry Potter semi-marathon?" Quinn asked hopefully. I shook my head at him. "One does not simply start a Harry Potter marathon without watching till the last second of the last film." I scolded him in a mocking voice.

"Look who's ripping of Lord of the Rings. Anyways, how about watching the Avengers Assemble?" Logan asked. Connor and I nodded. I looked at Quinn who had mindlessly nodded along. I grinned as a familiar memory from a few months ago of Quinn kissing a poster of Scarlett Johansson, the actress who played the Black Widow. It had been quite the awkward, standing there watching my brother make out with a poster. It had been even more awkward for _him _when I threatened to tell everyone about it. Let's just say that after that interesting little episode, I became the proud owner of a rare Green Lantern actual Lantern.

"Glad we agreed on one thing." Logan said as we finally arrived in the room. Logan set up the film while I gave a pair of 3D glasses to everyone.

One bottle of blood and half a film later we were already drunk out of our minds. That damn wine was pretty strong. Despite this I remember everything clearly. But I also remember how open I was with my brothers. I blurted out things that made me sound like even worse than when I was sober. Thankfully, my brothers were just as smashed as I was and revealed some pretty humiliating shit of their own…

"Do you remember the last time mum and dad took us to Wisconsin to visit the Moore's?" Logan started out of the blues.

"I nodded that was two years ago wasn't it." I asked him in a drowsy voice.

"Yep, and do you remember their hot daughter, what was her name, Leah, Lena, Lisa?"

"Lissa. Her name was Lissa, I would know. I was head over heels for her for six months." Connor said with a sheepish grin due to his intoxication.

"I feel for you bro. She may look like an angel sent down from heaven but in reality she's one manipulative bitch. To be honest, I knew you liked her so I didn't consider making a move on her. Even she knew that you like her. You made it clear as day, dude" Quinn told him.

Connor buried his head in his arms. "She did?!" he mumbled.

"Yeah and she tried to seduce me. She kept dropping things and bending down to pick them up in her skanky shorts. I kept strong though. I wouldn't let a bitch get between me and my brother, not even for Scarlett Johansson." Quinn told him.

"Thanks bro."

"Anytime"

Logan huffed, "Good for you, Connor. I on the other hand weren't as strong. Back then I was dating Elisa. We were going through a rough patch; I was a stupid sixteen year old. When Lissa came on to me, I succumbed to the temptation. When we returned, I told Elisa. I though that perhaps she wouldn't be mad if I told her the truth. The guilt ate me away. Elisa dumped me that day. I regret giving in to Lissa every single day. But what hurts the most is the fact that I was the one to make Elisa cry when she deserved so much better."

The three of us tried to console Logan. I had never known that he had very strong feelings for Elisa. "We all make mistakes, Logan. Who knows, maybe I did a mistake when I acted out of instinct and gave my blood to Lucy that night."

"Why would you say that?" Logan suddenly asked me.

"Yeah, you're the least one of us who has anything to complain about. It's pretty obvious with the bond and all that you and Lucy are going to end up together for life. Your life is set with Lucy, she's cute, tough, mature and she's very courageous. What more would you need in a woman?" Connor asked me with a dumbfound expression.

"It's not her I'm worried about. It's mostly her past." I admitted.

"Why? Her past was never an issue before." Logan continued.

"Well, I didn't like her like this before." I retorted. "She's just so afraid of who she is, who this bond has made her. We were talking about the bond which as you know it's main purpose was to procreate. Well, Lucy told me herself that she wasn't even sure id she wanted kids. She said that her mother messed her up and she didn't want to do the same to her children. She was the victim of domestic abuse from her brother, she was beat up so many times and I never even bothered to notice before." I took a deep breath as my thoughts and insecurities bubbled out in an incoherent mess."

"I made her life hell. I helped her brother in making her life hell. Our house was the only place where she felt safe and I've managed to ruin that for her. I insulted her on a daily basis. And this bond… Oh the fucking bond, it makes me want her so badly that I have to ball my fists to prevent myself from doing it."

Quinn inched forward from his seat to pat me on the back. "Calm down! Look, you don't need to feel guilty. You gave her a second chance to life. And about her being beaten up, you should remember that she kept it hidden so well that not even Sol knew about it." I nodded hesitantly.

Silence soon fell upon the four of us and we returned our attention to the film. It was me who said the last word before everyone ended up dead to the world.

"The absolute worse is the fact that I'm in love with her, but I know for sure that I don't deserve her. Or the sacrifice of her humanity."

XXX

Guys, I thought I would manage to handle this story while attending school, but I barely have time to sleep, let alone write. I've been procrastinating for a couple of weeks, writing small bits and pieces and truthfully I'm not very satisfied with the outcome. As you must have noticed, the story does not follow with A. Harvey's plot, mainly because I forgot most of the details, but please don't chew me out. I tried my best.

I'll be blunt. I don't want to give you guys shit and I don't expect you to allow me to give you that sort of writing. I honestly tried my best, but if my best isn't good enough for now, tell me and I will stop ruining the story and postpone it to next May when I finish my O Levels. If you think that I should put the story on hold, don't hesitate to tell me so. If you think that it's okay as it is and you can handle my slow updating rate without wanting to choke the living daylights out of me for taking so long, then I will continue updating for you guys.

It's up to you.

Yes, you, person behind the screen : )

xxx Sarah


	24. A surprise for Lucy

**Chapter 24: A surprise for Lucy**

**+ Lucy +**

"Sol… Solange." I said in a singsong voice. My best friend was sprawled across her bed with her raven black hair surrounding her head like a dark halo. I heard her groan before she slowly opened her eyes. Unintentionally, I drew back. I couldn't help myself. Solange had never looked more regal, in a dark and enthralling way. She was slowly morphing from the beautiful girl I've always known into an enigmatic vampire princess.

It sent alarm bells ringing in my head. How many days had passed since that Friday night from when everything seemed to go downhill? I quickly made the math in my mind which made me gasp. In less than a week, Solange would have to got through the change.

"Lucy… Luce, what happened to you? You look as if someone just shoved a lemon down your throat. Did something happen?" she asked me as she hastily tried to unwrap the sheets which were tangled around her legs. I woke up from my reverie and patted her on the shoulder. "Don't worry Sol, everything is OK. I just had a craving for pancakes, that's all." I told her as I banished the thoughts of her change from my mind. We were going to cherish the last few days of her humanity.

Solange closed her eyes and sighed. "Please tell me that you did wake me up just to make pancakes." I got out of her bed and went to stand next to the door. "If I could, I would, but I can't so I shan't."

She smiled at me as she shook her head. "Ah, Lucy you are truly incorrigible."

I grinned at her. "Come on, get ready, I need my pancake fix." I said with a wave of my hand.

"Lucy?" She said when I was already out of the room. I popped my head back in the room. "Yeah?"

"Are you sure you want to go out there wearing a pair of short pyjama shorts? I don't want you to give poor Nick a heart attack." she said with a grin. I glared at her before I walked up to the cupboard were she kept her sweat pants.

"Can I take one?"

"As if you need to ask." I put on the grey sweatpants reluctantly. "I really need to get my clothes from my house. I can't keep taking your clothes like this, it's not fair." I said grimly.

"Don't worry. I honestly don't mind." she shrugged. I nodded but I still wanted to get some of stuff. I couldn't keep on intruding on Solange, even though I was sure that she didn't care if I did. We were practically sisters.

"Okay then it's pancake time!" I said gloriously. Solange laughed a hearty laugh.

"I swear. You probably love those things more than you love me." I stared back.

"I strongly resent that, you know. I am appalled that you even considered the fact that I love pancakes more than you. I love you like a sister and if I had to choose between you and pancakes, you'd win without a second thought and trust me, if you were eatable, I'd never stop eating you. But since you're not, pancakes will have to do, so come on!" I threw a pair of sweat pants at her and once she changed I grabbed her by her arm and almost dragged her down the stairs.

Within half an hour, we each had a plate full of delicious blueberry pancakes in front of us.

"So," Solange started, "You and Nick, huh?"

I glanced at her but quickly returned my attention to my food. "Sol, I honestly told you everything that I could tell you yesterday. Do we seriously need to start this conversation again? Let's talk about something more interesting. For example did you finish your last masterpiece?" I tried to get her off track, but Sol wasn't born yesterday and she knew me perfectly.

"Uh-huh, so apart from the fact that I did have a feeling that something was going on between you two even before the whole bond, yesterday while you were sleeping I went to ask Will to give me more details about the bond. So apart from the fact that it's basic creation was for the procreation of healthy vampire babies, it also involves an emotional side, a physical side where your lives are so tightly intricate that if one dies, so does the other, and an even more _intimate _physical side. In simple English, you can barely stand in the same room without wanting to rip each other's clothes off. Am I right?" She said with a knowing smile.

I looked down at my plate once more and tried to conceal my cheeks, as I knew that by they'd take on a bright red shade. I was comfortable telling Solange absolutely anything about myself, but I drew the line when it came to talking about Nick and me.

I swallowed down my food and stopped her before she could carry on. Now wait just a second. That's not true. We can stand in the same room without wanting to rip each other's clothes off, as you so inelegantly put it." Sure, the thought would still be there, hammering at the back of our heads but that was a detail which Sol could definitely live without.

"To be honest, I'm kind of relieved that this happened because now I know that I'll never lose you, even after the change. But tell me the truth, Lucy. I'm your best friend and I certainly won't judge you. Did you and Nick… uh… do the dirty deed?" She hadn't even finished the sentence before I choked on my food. I coughed, wild eyed and baffled beyond compare that she'd ask me a question like that. It was unthinkable that my goody-two shoes friend would ask me these things. Usually I was the perverted one and the one who got the guy's dirty jokes first.

Sol rushed to pour me a glass of milk. Once she handed it to me, I had to swallow it down at once to get rid of the pieces of pancakes that were threatening to chock me. Just when I thought it couldn't get any worse, it did.

"Mother of pancakes! Lucy what the hell happened to you?" Logan said as he, Connor and Quinn joined us in the kitchen. I tried to wipe away the tears that had formed in my eyes when I was chocking. I knew that I probably looked like a chipmunk that just had an allergic reaction to something. This made me wonder, can chipmunks be allergic to anything like humans are?

"She almost choked on her pancakes when I asked her a question." Sol answered.

Quinn's eyebrows furrowed. "What the hell did you ask her then?" I shut my eyes instantly when I saw Sol's evil grin. I would _never _live this down, I just knew it.

"Nothing special, only if she and Nick have made sweet _luuurve _yet." she answered. The boys were holding their sides with laughter.

To make my humiliation even worse, Connor decided to dedicate a 'song' to me. "Get a load of this Lucy. Lucy and Nick, sitting in his MG, K-I-S-S-I-N-G. First comes love, then comes marriage, then comes a vampire baby in a carriage. I rolled my eyes at his immaturity and continued eating my pancakes. I would scrape the plate clean even if it killed me.

"Hey, Connor, I've got a little poem for you!" Nick said as he walked into the room. I wanted to slap myself as I held my breath while he entered the room. Seriously, was I turning into Bella Swan… that thought scared me shitless. But it all honestly he did look jaw droopingly gorgeous. Even though he had slight purple bags under his eyes and he did seem a little hung over like he others, he still made my heart skip a beat, as corny as that sounded. His messy hair was hanging sexily in front of his eyes and he kept pushing it out of the way. And did I mention that he was shirtless? Did I even need to explain further?

"Roses are red, Violets are blue, I've got a beautiful, hot girlfriend… and that's just about it. There's no need to ass anything else." Nick concluded sweetly. His brothers obviously started booing him. You wouldn't expect anything else from Logan, Connor and Quinn Drake.

"Whipped much?" Logan said with a condescending grin.

"Yeah, and put on a shirt you little corny sissy." Quinn added as he grabbed some bottles of blood for him and his brothers and put them in the microwave.

With a family like this, it was hard to be unhappy. To be honest, I had never been happier on a Saturday morning.

Nick waved his brothers off and started making his way towards me. "Good morni-"

All of a sudden I felt as if I was the president and Nick was a terrorist carrying a bomb. Sol and the guys got between us and made it impossible for him to even touch me.

"Where do you think you're going, buster?" Sol said to him with a condescending smirk.

"I was just going to hung her. For Pete's sake what did you think we were going to do? Do you think that we're just going to randomly start humping like rabbits in the middle of the kitchen in front of you perverts?" Nick asked them as he sat down opposite to me. The others relaxed and sat down. The guys started slowly sipping on their blood.

"Sorry, but we can't let you do that. We have orders directly from the boss." Connor answered with a shrug. By boss he obviously meant Helena.

"Fine, just eat your pancakes and sip your blood people. Don't get your panties in a twist." The conversation took quite the turn when the boys started discussing about actual panties. After a while, Sol and I managed to get them back on track.

Since they had asked me to move in, I found no objection; even because I had nowhere else to go. But I needed my stuff back so I asked the guys to give me a lift to my old house since I had basically nothing and Sol and I were going to all of her clothes quite quickly. At first only Sol wanted to take me – mainly because she hadn't exited the house it weeks, but somehow everybody wanted to come. The guys let Sol come with us on the condition that she laid low. Nick also got the opportunity to get his car from where it was parked after we left it out of gas.

We waited till it was late in the afternoon and spent most of our time watching a Lord of the Rings marathon. We only managed to see two films since the guys only had the extended versions of the films. Soon we were on the road. Since there were six of us and only five seats, I, of all people ended up sitting on Logan since they didn't allow me to sit on Nick. During the entire drive, poor Logan received the daggers from Nick, just because I was sitting on him. The poor lad was jealous even though he knew that he had absolutely nothing to be jealous about. Logan to me was like a brother, a friend or a chair. Our relationship was always platonic and held nothing remotely romantic in it.

After Nick got his car running and Logan went with him, the rest of were more comfortable.

When we stopped and my gaze fell upon my old house that had long lost any of the beauty it held when it was originally built, I felt guilty. The house was almost picturesque when my dad was still around. Now the grass needed desperate mowing and the windows were desperate for a good cleaning. I tore my gaze away. This was no longer my house so it was no longer my business. Hopefully today would be the last time I'd ever need to enter in that god forsaken house. I sighed and told the guys to wait for me. I didn't want to invite them inside as I had no idea of the disasters I could find. Of all disasters, the maximum I expected was a bunch of half naked people after my brother turned the house into his personal disco. I certainly didn't expect what I found.

I reached into my pocket for my keys and with shaky fingers, I tried to insert the key in the lock, but much to my surprise, the door was open. My mind led me to a thousand different scenarios and I swallowed in advance. I walked inside and hastily made my way inside, leaving the door open as it was in the first place. The first thing I noticed was a foul smell of decay. The air had a metallic smell blood. I wanted to walk out that moment but my curiosity got the best of me and I regret it every single day because that evening I saw things that scarred me for life.

I walked into the kitchen. As I've said before, I've seen some pretty disturbing shit in my sixteen years, but I had never seen a dead body before and certainly not a dismembered one.

Laying in a pool of vermillion blood was a headless body of a man. I was appalled. In all honestly I was so shocked and scared that I couldn't move. My eyes fell on the thing which made the scene a thousand times more gruesome. The head was standing just a few feet away from the body and it was staring at me, almost as if it was examining me. It was locked in an eternal bloodcurdling look of shock, mixed with pure, undiluted terror.

The head belonged to Phil, my mum's new husband.

**XXXX**

**HEY GUYS! Missed me? Sorry I had to end the chapter in such a gruesome way, just a few days before the happiest holiday of the year but it did make an impact, didn't in? :D**

**Anyways, I'm not going to bore you with never-ending stories about me, I just wanted to upload before Christmas. Consider it as my present to you, awesome people! I honestly wish you all the happiness in the world, whichever holiday you celebrate or even if you don't celebrate any. This time is the perfect time of year for cuddling, so imagine your very own smexy Nick with whom you can cuddle :D :D**

**Lucy: *Grabs my hair* Oh no you don't bitch! He's MINE! Get your own Nicky!**

**Me: Okay *walks away slowly***

**Lol, enough of my craziness, seriously guys, happy holidays and until the next time my gorgeous lovelies :D**


	25. The Letter

**Chapter 25: The Letter**

**§ Lucy §**

After a few infuriating seconds of hearing a long, high pitched scream of a woman that could have been a legit horror movie scream, I wanted to slap the bitch who was making such a profane that was piercing my ears.

It was only after I felt my throat go sore like the Sahara that I realised that the bitch was actually me. Nick's worry fled through the bond inside of me like a crack of thunder on a clear day. I felt myself regaining control of my sense when I managed to break eye contact with the disassembled head of a dead man that I loathed.

I bolted for the door before Nick could burst through it. I knew well enough that Nick could easily break through the door, especially after my anxiety that definitely reached him through the blood bond. I didn't want him anywhere near this whole mess. With the sudden adrenalin which was pumping through my veins like poison, I felt a sudden burst of energy spread throughout my body. I pushed the first piece of furniture which was closest to the door in front of it, which happened to be an ancient chest of drawers that weighed twelve times more than I did. I barricaded the door with everything I could find in the corridors.

I could feel the heavy thumps of the Drakes behind the door and I could hear them calling my name out frantically.

"Go away and leave me the fuck alone!" I shouted out, making their shouts die out at the sound of my voice. I could barely manage to keep my voice from breaking. As the grisly image of the head scarred my mind forever, I couldn't close my eyes without it reappearing right before my eyes once more.

To make it worse, I could feel every single bit of the pancakes floating around in my stomach, and I just knew that it would take a miracle to stop me from scoffing up every single bit of them.

"Lucy, what the hell is going on? We heard you shout and the house just reeks of blood." Logan said behind the door.

"Nothing that concerns you. Just go back home, I'll call a cab or something later." I choked out. I knew that they wouldn't let me off the hook that easily.

And this time, _he _was the one who spoke. That one person who made me feel guilty for even existing. He made me feel like the villain for dragging him with me. The only foolish bastard who was optimistic enough to think that this bond was an opportunity for us, when in reality it was an unbreakable chain that would make him drown along with me.

"Lucy, for fuck's sake stop being such a proud bitch and let us in. Is it your brother? If even scratched your skin I'm going to gut that assho-"

I cut him off." No, it's not him. Nick, please just go. Please." the last word sounded like a plea, something which had never happened between us. I knew well enough that I was too damn proud to ask for anything, let alone beg for it.

Everything fell silent after that. I couldn't even hear their voices murmuring about what their next strategy was. I just lay in front of the mountain of furniture I used to barricade the door holding my head in my hands as I could barely feel anything.

It was the sound of someone breaking through a glass window that splintered the blissful silence. By now, I couldn't care less whether it was the murder breaking into the house. He could behead me for all I cared. Nick would survive without me. He would probably fare better with me out of the way. He would survive the pain of my death. It was I who would die like the weakling of a human I was in the event of his death.

I could hear the grunts of the intruder trying to climb in through the window. "Just let me talk to her alone, okay. I'm the only one who really can understand what she's feeling." I hear Nick say. I should have been reassured that it was him, but in reality all I could feel was a twinge of disappointment. I had kind of hoped that I could get it over and done with.

With a few long strides of his, he managed to get from the spare bedroom in which he had broken into, and before me in seconds.

"Lucy..." I heard his soothing voice say to me as he kneeled down and sat next to me. "What... Why is there such a strong scent of blood in the house? You're not bleeding, are you?" he said softly. I looked up at him and met his warm eyes. "I told you. I told you that everything and everyone around me just gets fucked up in the end." I spit at him, directing my anger wrongly at him.

"What are you going on about?" He asked me with a questioning look in his eyes. I got off the floor painfully with his help. I took my hand in his and slowly directed him towards the kitchen.

"Holy shit..." I couldn't look at the scene in front of me again, so I buried my face in Nick's shoulder. Nick's arms instantly went around me. "This is so wrong and messed up. I'm sorry you had to see that Lucy." At his words, I had hysterics bubbling up my throat. I tore myself from his side and pointed at the scene before us.

"You?! You're the one sorry I had to see this? You're not the one who has a freaking decapitated body in their house!" I lowered my eyes at the blood on the floor.

"Look at what's become of my clean floor. Just look at it, it's horrendous. I used to scrub it so clean; the tiles would become squeaking white. Now that blood will never go away." I felt the sweet grip of insanity slowly inducing itself in my pressured mind. There is so much anguish and pain a person can go through before they crack. I could handle four agonising years of being bullied, but murder was where I drew the line.

Right now, in my distressed mind nothing mattered except the blood ruining my nice floor. I skipped over the body and to the sink and grabbed a washing cloth. My frantic fingers found the knob and I opened it on full blast. The ice cool water was doing miracles for my nerves, but it was nowhere near powerful enough to make me forget the task at hand. I knelt down and slowly started wiping the bright crimson substance off the floor. My finger accidentally touched the blood. I could feel the thick substance on my skin.

"It's still warm." I wondered out loud as I stopped momentarily from cleaning the floor. My words seemed to grab Nick's attention from whatever he was doing.

"Lucy, what the hell are you trying to do? Get away from the blood." he said once he noticed what I was doing.

"I need to clean this up first! It will take a while but I can't leave the place like this!" I said to him as I ignored the blood covering my fingers and continued scrubbing the floor.

I heard him growl in frustration. "For fuck's sake Lucy, I know this your subconscious' way of distancing itself from the pain, but it's not healthy. Get over here, now." he said, ending on a commanding note which I couldn't help but oblige to his words. As I tried to get up, spilt, but thankfully enough, my reflexes were pretty good so I managed to break the fall with my hands, which went directly in the pool of blood next to me. As I felt the squishy, disgusting fluid coat the palms of my hands, my stomach tightened. It felt as if the pancakes were not only floating around in my stomach; they were doing freaking somersaults and backflips.

Thankfully Nick helped me out of the sticky situation by pulling me up by the waist. He was careful not to touch my hands. Only then I noticed that his grey eyes had become a ravenous black. For a moment I had forgotten all about the bloodlust. The poor lad was probably ravenous right now with all this fresh blood in front of him.

That was enough to get me over the shock. The tough woman inside of me was roaring at me for acting so weak. I was the strong one in my family, and I needed to start acting like it. This brought on a thousand different questions.

If Phil was here, well, his body was here, then where was mum? And where the hell was my brother? Were they... dead too? Where they in the house to begin with or had they managed to escape? This didn't make any sense to me. Why would someone kill somebody is such a gruesome way to begin with? Phil was far too boring to have enemies that were capable of this.

Well, you know what? I decided that I didn't care enough to stick around to find out. This was the last scar that my family would inflict on me.

"You're hungry. We needed to get out, now." I told Nick. I realised that my hands were still covered in blood, and it wasn't very ideal to leave in this state, especially if I'd have to sit in a closed compartment that was the car with three ravenous vampires. It would be like going on a safari adventure in Africa wearing a tuxedo made out of meat.

Nick hadn't loosened his grip on my waist, so when I tried to squirm out of his grip, he accidentally dropped a piece of paper he had been holding. Thankfully it landed just a few centimetres away from the blood. "What is that?" I asked Nick as he bended down to pick it up.

"Oh, it's nothing, really. Just wash your hands so we can go. If it makes you feel better we can stop for ice-cream or a cappuccino..." he rambled on. I looked up at him with a raised eyebrow. "Seriously, dude? Ice cream? Cause nothing gets me in the mood for ice cream like a freaking decapitated body. Just let me see the note."

"I don't think-" he tried to stop me but I had already wiped my hands on the edge of the kitchen counter. I opened the piece of paper with shaking fingers. What could this little piece of paper contain that would make Nick stutter like an idiot.

I drew in my breath at the greeting on the paper.

_'Dear Lulu, _

_I'm very sorry that I had to wait to contact you just now. I had to wait until you and your brother were of age. I'm also sorry I had to leave you so early, but if I waited a minute longer we would have lived the opportunity of a lifetime. _

_But you must know, I've never stopped loving you, your brother and your beautiful mother. It was the reason why I got so enraged at your mother's treachery. But my anger burnt out just as fast as it had started once that unworthy mortal was wasted. (I hope it didn't upset you very much. I would have removed the body, but I had much more important tings to handle.) Your mother and your brother have joined me in an eternal life that will know no end. I was disappointed that you weren't with them. It would have meant the world to me if you had joined us to. _

_However, I knew that the chances of finding you in our home were close to nothing. I know well enough that you've grown close to the Drakes, as I've had people watching you. As I said, you may have not seen me but that didn't mean that I'd abandoned you. Much to my surprise, you also bonded with one of them. At first I was sceptical about that, but my master was delighted therefore so am I. This could work out positively for both our families. I am sure that you know perfectly well what awaits your best friend, Solange Drake, once she goes through the change. When Master becomes the ruler of the night world in the very near future, if Miss Drake plays her cards right, she and her family will be set for life, with our family close by there side as the advisors to the royal family. I entrust in you the task to guide her._

_Be quick, dear Lulu, because we don't have much time. You will need to join your family quite soon._

_I can't wait for the moment when you open your eyes after you have joined the night word. We will be a family again._

_Love ,_

_Dad'_

The tightening in my stomach became unbearable. I sprinted out of the kitchen and into the bathroom where I puked my guts out.

XXX

**DUNDUNDUNNNNN :D**

**So how will Lucy take it? What is your opinion of her father so far? Do you think I should tone down the horror and angst? If you don't like this genre, don't worry... the next chapter will be a bit... steamy, if you catch my drift ;)**

**Anyways, I hoped you enjoyed the chapter, a bit of drama, horror, I mean the same old yada yada about love does get boring after a while, so I like to mix it up... I AM THAT COOL xD... not. If you did, don't forget to show me the love, if you didn't, you have every right to say 'Go home chapter, you're drunk'. (to be fair, I was really sick as I wrote this chap, damn you asthma.) I love hearing your comments!**

**After this chapter I am going to put on hold not just my stories but my LIFE, cause I can't afford to keep procrastinating, my annual exams are at the doorstep and these will affect my school leaving certificate :/**

**SO *putting on turban and grabbing crystal ball* the next chapter will be uploaded in the first week of March.**

**Thanks for sticking with the story guys, see you in March :P**


	26. The Sweet Grip of Insanity

**Chapter 26: Sweet Grip of Insanity**

**+ LUCY +**

I hurled once more, for the third time in the time span of ten minutes. The pancakes were long gone, along with what felt like half the water in my body. By this rate, I was afraid that my liver was next. I got up and went to stand in front of the mirror. My tear streaked face looked as if someone had beaten me up with a shovel. I wiped the tears away with the back of my hand. Phil's blood which had previously coated my face was now everywhere... my face, my clothes, my hair. I opened the tap and let the clear water flow freely.

I put my hands under the flow and I swear nothing felt better than the icy water on my hands, washing away every last trace of vomit and blood. I splashed the water on my face and it felt so good on my skin that felt sticky with sweat that I kept splashing the cool liquid on my forearms and my neck. By then, my shirt was soaking wet, my hair was dripping but it was the best feeling I'd had since I entered the damned house.

I removed the thin tank top and my shorts looked back at my reflection that stared back at me in nothing but her underwear. She looked fragile, weak like the complete mess she was. I couldn't have that. There was no place in the world for her, a world where apparently it was kill or be killed, even if that meant killing off your own blood. Looking at myself in that weak state angered me beyond compare. Out of anger, I grabbed my mum's hairdryer and threw it at the mirror, making it splinter in a million different pieces.

At this, Nick burst through the door in the bathroom. I had threatened him to cut his throat in his sleep if he came in the bathroom while I looked like a disgusting hag from hell, but at the sound of the mirror breaking, he came in anyways. I saw how taken aback he was when he noticed that I stood before him in only my underwear.

I ignored him and his questions and exited the bathroom, knowing that he was hot on my trail. I went straight to my room and pulled out a black t-shirt and a pair of holey jeans which I put on straight away. I emptied the rest of my drawers on the bed and grabbed a large bag.

"Put the clothes in the bag." I ordered Nick, who stared at me as if I'd just resurrected from the dead. He nodded and complied silently, surprise written all over his face. In the meantime I put on my boots and started gathering the few possessions which I wanted to take with me. It turned out, that the only thing I wanted in the entire house was the scrap book Sol and I made when we were thirteen. It was filled with pictures of precious memories, memories which didn't involve my Josh or my parents.

My eyes fell on the small picture frame of my dad and me when I was ten. I was smiling, and so was my father. However this didn't stop me from forcing open the frame and pulling out the picture, only to tear it into tiny pieces.

"Um... Lucy, are you-" Nick started hesitantly but I cut him off.

"Alright? Oh Nicky, believe me, I'm fantastic. Better than I've been in a _long _time."

"Let's go." I said as he grabbed my bag. We made our way down the stairs. The sight of Phil's body stood before me and once again, my father's note floated in my mind. The man's fucking arrogance, the fact that he was so sure of himself made my blood boil underneath my thick skin. He never considered whether we wanted his beloved immortal life. He never even considered the fact that after four years thinking he was dead, we wouldn't have been exactly waiting for him.

I wanted to do something to show him that he couldn't own me. He might have turned my mother and Josh. But I'd be dead before any of his disgusting blood came anywhere near me, unless it was after I've beheaded his head.

My eyes fell on a bottle of detergent next to the sink. "Nick, I need you to go outside and wait for me in the car." I said in a blank voice, never leaving the bottle out of my sight.

"No way. Let's just go, please." he said as he put a hand on my arm, trying to make me go with him. I looked up at him with reassuring eyes and placed a small kiss on his lips. His eyes were wide open, disbelieving. He probably thought I had gone crazy.

He had no idea just how crazy I was.

"I'll be with you in just one moment. I just need a few moments to um... make peace with my past." I said, lying straight through my teeth. His grey eyes were tainted with suspicion, but he nodded slowly.

"Five minutes. Then I'm coming to get you whether you want it or not."

I nodded and smiled a knowing smirk. "That's all I need." He kissed softly me on my temple before he left through the window. Once I saw him go over to his brothers and Solange, probably trying to tell them what happened, I knew I had a few minutes to do the deed.

I ripped the curtains off the railing and put them in a bunch on the floor. I quickly made my way in the kitchen and pulled out every single oven cleaner cans and flammable liquids which I could find. I put a box of matches in my pocket and carried on with the plan. I put the cans next to Phil's head and started throwing the detergents all over the place. I finally made a trail leading to the curtains on the floor and used the remaining liquid on them. I went over to the window and pulled out the matches. I lit up two for good measure and threw them at the pile of curtains that instantly went in flames. I grinned at my makeshift bonfire before rushing quickly out of the house and making my way to Nick.

"We need to go. _Now!" _I barked at the bewildered bunch. I pulled Nick with me and told him to get in the car. He complied a bit robotically but after I snapped at him to hurry up, he did so.

We heard it then, a blood curdling explosion that echoed out of the house. Within seconds the house convulsed in flames. It was one of the most terrifyingly beautiful scenes I'd ever seen in my life.

"What the fuck did you do Lucy?" Nick said loudly as he floored the gas pedal and followed Logan's trail away from the burning house.

"That son of a bitch can take his 'perfect vampire family' and shove it up his ass." I said victoriously as the last orange flames disappeared out of my sight.

"For fuck's sake, Lucy, have you gone mad?" Nick bellowed at me.

"Yes, something along those lines. I need to send him a message." I said nonchalantly.

Nick's eyes managed to widen even more. "So you thought _burning _the house down was a good way to send a message?" He asked me incredulously.

"Why not? He did leave a decapitated body in my kitchen, so yes, that was the only way to get his attention. And I also saved us a lot of trouble. The police would start investigate about Phil's sudden disappearance. That way I've burned any proof that we were there." I told him.

"Look, I don't know what happened to you in the bathroom, but how the hell can you speak so calmly about this?" he asked me hoarsely.

"I'm trying to be practical, and curling up in a ball and crying my eyes out is not going to get me anywhere. There's no time for our silly bond when Solange's life... hell, every single vampire's life is threatened by Montmarte's existence. The single thought of hiding this from me shouldn't have even touched your mind in the slightest! You had no right to do that, Nick."

Nick groaned and hit the steering wheel in frustration. "Lucy, my day has turned from mildly irritating to downright hell. I've seen a disgusting beheaded body and let me tell you one thing. I'm hungry, I really am and seeing all that blood in front of me while trying to remind myself that you were in pain so I had to help you was too fucking much for one day. So, excuse me if I don't want to hear you bitch at me for one day." he roared at me, shutting me up instantly. I could feel how tired and hungry he was straight through the bond when I focused on it.

This short night had taken a very dark turn for both of us. Silence was better that anything we could have said, so we drove to the Drake's house in absolute, perfect silence.

We knew we'd have to answer a shit load of questions once we arrived.

"Oh my god." Solange said faintly after Nick and I painfully told her and the rest of the family what we found in my house. Helena's expression was murderous while Liam looked tired and worn out. None of the boys had uttered one word as Nick and I told them what happened.

"So what's the plan now?" Quinn spoke quietly. Every pair of eyes was trained carefully on me.

"Easy. We use the situation to our advantage. If my father thinks that he can play happy family we let him believe that till we can catch them and milk as much information as possible from them before killing them." The bluntness in my words surprised even me. I could see everybody looking at me, some almost as if I had sprouted another limb.

"They're your family, Lucy." Sol spoke softly. I snorted. "Family? They're not my family. You guys have been a better family for me than they ever were. Family isn't supposed to beat you up or stab you or leave you!" I said determinately. "They can rot in hell for all I care, as long as I'm the one to ice my old man. He did this to me, he wasn't there for Josh when he needed him and he ruined my mother's life."

"Well, dear you're certainly braver than most. Not many would find this much strength in them to carry on, let alone want revenge." Helena said as she came towards me to embrace me. "And I swear on my honour I'll help you get it, because you deserve it. You're like my own daughter to me."

"Well, it's getting late and I'm sure that you and Nick would rather be resting than answering questions so I suggest you go to bed. We'll continue working tomorrow when everybody's feeling better." Liam said as he put a hand on my shoulder and one on Nick's. He and Helena made their way to their room, probably to discuss in private. The boys started making their way to their bedrooms, of course after commenting about the part where I lit up my house. I wanted to smile at their attempt to cheer me up, but the corners f my mouth wouldn't even arch.

Nick left too. Not one word was uttered between us as he made his way upstairs, however the look he gave me before he disappeared showed me that we were thinking about the same thing. Solange and I went to our room. I did not have the energy to shower properly so I knew what the first thing I'd do in the morning would be.

I woke up trying to muffle the screams from the nightmare that had just awakened me. Sleep came to me with difficulty, because the damn image of the broken man kept me up, however this time I was sure that the feelings inside of me where not entirely my own. I had slipped in Nick's dream. The whole ordeal had messed up the poor guy more than he let on. I decided to screw the rules for one night, hell we deserved it. I tiptoed out of the room and made my way down the corridor where Nick was. I didn't knock, as I knew he was wide awake. I could feel it at the back of my mind.

"Nick," I said softly to his dark figure lying on the bed. He sat up on the bed and lit his bedside lamp for my benefit. "I... I wanted to say I'm sorry for the way I acted in the car... I was just..."

"I know, it's okay." he said in a reassuring tone. "Sorry I woke you up." he added later.

I shrugged. "It wouldn't have lasted long anyways. So, may I sit?" I asked him. He nodded and scooted over to make place for me.

Up close I could see dark violet bags under his eyes. His skin looked sickly white and I knew he was close to collapsing. He truly hid a lot of his feelings from me, even with the bond and everything it entitled. It just proved how strong his barriers were.

"That's it," I adjusted myself at the right angle so that the both of us could be comfortable. "You need to drink right now. You look like Dracula's freaking corpse bride." I said, which brought a small chuckle to his mouth.

"I can't Lucy, you know we shouldn't do this. It's risky." I scoffed. "Look, you need the blood, obviously that bottled shit you're taking is not enough. I don't mind you drinking from me till we find a better solution. And if you're talking about the whole sexual tension, I'm too tired to even try." I said as tried to lower gently his head towards my neck. He breathed in and uttered a small "Thank you," before I felt the delicate puncture of his teeth on my skin. The more he drank, the sleepier I got. He stopped after a few moments. We remained silent until we shifted into a more comfortable position. I buried my head in the crook of his neck and put my arm over his torso.

"Thanks for coming, Lucky." he said with a small smile as he pulled me closer to him.

I smiled, "What are blood bonded, crazy, girlfriends for?"

After a few minutes I felt him drift off in a dreamless slumber, and I followed suit.

**Exams are over so I finally UPDATED! I'll try to update as much as I can but within a month I'll start my O levels -_-**

**Hope you liked this chapter! Did you expect that reaction from Lucy, cause I pictured it so clearly in my head. Hopefully the next chapter will be less action packed. If you did please review :D**

**Until the next time!**


	27. So Wrong

**Chapter 27: So Wrong.**

**- Lucy -**

_"Rock, paper, Scissors!" Josh and I shouted as we shook our balled fists. My grin stretched from ear to ear as my paper defeated his rock. Josh always chose rock so eleven year old me was smart enough to always choose paper. _

_"Ha! I win! I get to ride shotgun." I said victoriously as I opened the car door and got in the car. Josh grumbled underneath his breath. _

_"Dang it! You always win in this game. It's not fair!" He said sulkily with a pouty lip. He got in the car at the back and crossed his hands angrily._

_My dad chuckled knowingly at me, knowing my gameplay. I still smirked in satisfaction and put on my seatbelt. "Don't worry Josh. Next time you'll get to ride in front." he reassured Josh. _

_He got inside the car and drove off. My stomach grumbled loudly and I tried to shush it quietly. My father patted my stomach. "Looks like someone's hungry all right. Don't worry, your mother has prepared a nice meal for the four of us. I want to see empty plates, otherwise I'll get very upset with you!" he said to me and Josh. We both nodded apprehensively. As much as dad was a nice guy, he was downright scary when he got mad. _

_Within a few minutes we arrived home. I unbuckled myself and ran towards the front door I knocked and my mum opened. She was smiling at me, her bright red lips arching perfectly on her face. She took in my dishevelled appearance and arranged the loose strands of my hair behind my ear._

_"Lucy, come in! I've prepared something really yummy today. I want you to taste it first, sweetie." She said in her chirpy voice. I nodded in delight. Honestly, I was so hungry that it could have been some crappy microwaveable hamburger and I still would have downed it in one bite._

_I followed after her, her white sundress flowing behind her like a cape. I realised how beautiful my mother was when she wasn't drowning herself in alcohol. I followed her with a smile, like the obedient ten-year-old girl I was. When we entered in the kitchen, my mother reached for a plate covered with a red paper napkin. I stared at the plate with uncertainty. Even then, my mother had never been the best cook. Whatever was under the napkin must have been quite big, considering the lump that was clearly visible. _

_She removed the napkin and much to my horror, the haunting disassembled head was on the plate. A scream tore from my throat. _

_"It's just a centrepiece for the table, dear. The real treat is here." She said as she pointed to my right, where the rest of the headless body was hanging with a large jug beneath it, filled almost to the brim with thick crimson blood. _

_My mother grabbed the jug and poured herself a glass. Her eyes blacked over and her canines elongated. She downed the glass in one go. The blood glistened on her teeth and dribbled excruciatingly slowly down her chin, staining her white dress in the process._

_I couldn't make myself speak. And even if I did, what could I say. I spun on my heels, realising for the first time that I had somehow managed to morph myself into the present sixteen-year-old me. However, two large, looming figures were blocking my way. I looked up and saw my father and brother, their mouths both dripping in blood. _

_"Join us." my brother chanted as my father approached m, his slimy hand almost coming in contact with my arm. I backed away, but my mother was trapping me. _

_"Let me go!" I screamed at them. Their hands were grabbing both of my arms tightly, engulfing me in a nauseous wave of claustrophobia. _

**"Lucy!" **I heard Nick scream in the distance. I opened my eyes and I was no longer surrounded by my parents and Josh and the hands restraining me were not theirs either.

"Lucy, it was just a nightmare, snap out of it!" he tried to reassure me. It took me a few moments to grasp what he was saying. His hands were cupping my face, making me look up into his stormy grey eyes. With his thumbs he was pushing back the loose strands of my hair. I realised that I was sobbing so I took a deep breath and tried to calm down.

Behind him, I could see Solange's worried face and the twins in the back who were quickly followed by Logan. It didn't take long for the entire house to gather in Nick's small room.

"What happened? Why are you all here?" I asked them as Logan handed me a tissue to wipe the sweat off my forehead.

"We were all sleeping and suddenly you start screaming like a mad woman. Everyone woke up to check on you." Quinn put it shortly.

"Oh God. I'm so sorry guys. You can all go back to bed. It was just a nightmare. I'm really sorry for waking you up like that." I said guiltily as Helena handed me a glass of water with I downed in one go.

"Don't worry, Lucy. After what you had to see it's understandable." Helena reassured me with a smile. I gave her a small nod in return and tried to smile back but it was a failed effort.

"All right back to bed, everybody." Liam said to the lot. "If you need anything, Lucy please tell us, but right now it's best if we're all well rested." I nodded and thanked them. Solange came to my side of the bed and hugged me. I hugged her back tightly feeling comfortable in her embrace.

"Lucy, I'm sure now's not the time to talk, but I don't want you to start piling up this crap inside yourself. You're not super girl. We're here to help you." she told me. I nodded and thanked her, feeling stupid enough that all I could say was a simple 'thank you'. But I felt drained. Sleep was not an option but I was exhausted.

She left the room, leaving me with Nick, who had lied back down on the back, covering his face with his hands in desperation.

"You dreamt about your father... and the body didn't you?" he asked me quietly. I nodded and lied down next to him.

"I... I'm so tired. I'm trying to be strong. I'm trying, I really am." I said, my voice going thick. I had promised myself no more tears but they seemed to defy me.

"It's okay to feel vulnerable every once in a while. And after what we went through last night, believe me you're not the only one. I only slept for half an hour before I woke up." he told me as he pulled me closer to him. We sat there in silence for a few minutes.

However, my mind was reeling. I sat up straight as a plan of action was slowly forming in my head.

"Is something wrong?" he asked me worriedly as he sat up next to me.

"Come with me," I said I grabbed his hand and without waiting for an answer I pulled him with me off the bed.

"Where are we going at five in the morning, Lucy?" he asked me sceptically. I didn't answer but led him down two flights of stairs, where the gym was. The gym was not a room that I visited often for the obvious reason – I hated training.

However hard times call for desperate measures.

"We are going to train because you and I, Nicky, are going to double-cross not only my father, but also Montmarte himself." I told him as I fiddled with a pair of bright red boxing gloves.

He stared back at me with a raised eyebrow. "And how do you propose we do that?" he asked me pompously.

I looked up straight into his uncertain eyes. "I wasn't kidding when I said that I plan on using my father for info, even if it means playing happy family. And I know just how to do that. I'll meet up with him; tell him that I agree with his plan and how happy I am to see him again. He can't even turn me without killing himself like that vampire in the hospital did. He probably already knows that. However I'll try to persuade him that I can be a valuable asset among you guys. He'll probably have to explain certain things to me which we can use to our advantage, and when the time comes," I paused for a moment, "I'll stick in a stake so deep into his heart his ancestors will feel it."

Nick stared at me for a long time, his expression a cross between being impressed and absolutely horrified.

"Look, Lucy, I get that you want revenge, but that plan is so half-assed and based on assumptions that everything will fall into place exactly as you predict, it's a suicide mission. So much can go wrong that I don't even want to think about it."

"Why not? You know, this is something I really hate about you. You're so fucking pessimistic. Yes, it's risky but it's a good plan." I said, suddenly getting annoyed. I couldn't believe how easily we could start fighting.

He groaned loudly. "I'm not pessimistic. I'm being realistic. And even if by some kind of miracle your plan could be put into action, do you think I'd let you get anywhere near your father. No offence but he's a psychopath."

"Well, Nicky dear, if you think he's psychotic, then I must remind you that I'm a better and improved version of him and you have no idea just how psychotic I can be." I said with a sickly sweet smile on my lips.

"Lucy, have you ever seen your typical horror movie where there's always that one dumb girl who thinks that she can go into the scary haunted house and come out scot-free cause she's just so fucking smart. Well, you're starting to sound just like her."

I glared at him, "Well, I may be psychotic but I'm not dumb. If I'm doing this I'll be prepared for any scenario. And that means getting over myself and practicing." I hit a punching bag hard and looked back at him with a satisfied smirk. Too bad that I had to make an ass out of myself when the punching bag hit me back, knocking me down on the carpeted floor.

Nick started laughing at me like a fucking hyena, a retarded moronic one that sounded as if it was choking. I lifted myself up to a sitting position as he walked over to help me up. I refused his aid and got up myself.

"How about we start with an easier target that won't hit you back? Like a pillow or a marshmallow." he teased me.

I grinned mischievously. "Or maybe I can hit you instead." I said as I hit him hard in the arm. When he didn't move I hit him again.

"Stop it, Lucky. You're being immature." he said, trying hard to seem serious. I tried to hit him again, but this time he didn't let me touch him because he blocked my blow. I tried again but he blocked me again... and again.

"You're pretty quick, Nicky." I acknowledged as he put on a pair of boxing gloves himself.

"So you want to learn to fight, huh? Let's see what you've got." He said as he got into a defensive position with a smirk set deep on his lips. The corners of my mouth quirked upwards in satisfaction.

And so, while he dodged my blows easily, I probably sweated half my body weight to no avail. "You know what? That's it?" I said calmly before yelling out a warrior's battle cry and jumping roughly on him and gripping him like a demented koala. We tumbled on the floor together throwing light punches that couldn't even hurt a fly. Our light laughter filled the air which had been previously filled with tension and despair.

The purpose of our fighting practice failed completely when my lips made contact. Though we had no intentions to carry it on as far as we did, during that moment when our strained minds couldn't take anymore pressure and agony, kissing seemed to be the only natural thing we could do that could help us forget for a few moments. My hands travelled all over his broad chest. I helped him lift his shirt up as we continued to kiss each other almost savagely. After all the unnatural things we had seen, all the blood and gore, the prospect of forgetting everything in a few passion-filled moments seemed quite nice. His shirt was gone and mine followed suit.

Nick continued to kiss down my neck and my collarbone, gingerly biting at my skin in an almost risqué way. The thrill of the bite captivated me like always. It was something I just couldn't get enough of. I didn't know whether the fact that I knew that it was so wrong that made me crave it so badly. I knew that we were going down a road with no end. And if we didn't stop soon, there'd be no way back.

We knew that we shouldn't be doing this.

We knew all about the consequences we would have to deal with.

We were fully aware that we had already far too much shit to deal with.

But I didn't stop, and neither did he. Perhaps after all what they say is true, if it feels wrong, it's always more fun.

**So! What did you think? What will happen? Will they give in? Do you want them to give in? Let me know what you think! I want to know which way I should direct this story? Do you guys want romance or would you rather have action? **

**Thanks for reading and sticking with this story! Please let me know your opinions about this! I want my inbox to explode! **


	28. Just One Taste

**UD 28: Just one Taste.**

+ Lucy +

"Nick." I breathed in his ear as little moans of pleasure threatened to burst from my mouth. I was lost to the touch of his clever mouth on my neck. I could feel my blood pulsating through my veins and arteries, throbbing to fulfil his one need.

"Do it." I said in a small voice. "Please."

His hot breath on my shoulder became even hotter. I could feel a smile tug at his lips as he bit down. The small pain was instantly swallowed down by pleasure as he extracted my blood slowly, sending my body in an ecstasy of its own. As twisted as it was, I got off of our blood exchange. I had never had sex, but I bet that even sex could never surpass it. Just the thrill of knowing that one drop of blood could mean the difference between me turning into one of his kind or not made it all the more enticing.

However he pulled back all to quickly. Out of his pyjama pants he produced his little Swiss army knife. I couldn't help but smile.

"Seriously? You carry that thing to bed now too?"

He grinned at me. "What can I say? I'm a good scout. Always prepared." he said before slashing his wrist. At the sight of his blood, I felt my pupils dilate. I found it more than a tad ironic that just a few moments ago, I was having the worst nightmare of my life because of blood, but when it came to Nick's I forgot everything.

I took his hand in mine, never breaking eye contact with him. His eyes were lost in mine as a goofy smile took over his perfect lips.

I licked his wrist, slowly. I could feel waves of pleasure rippling into me through the bond.

There's no way to describe the feeling. Words just wouldn't suffice. Nick's eyes were filled with a thousand different emotions.

Passion, stubbornness, anger, tiredness, lust, confusion, fear... love.

I leaned in and claimed his lips. "You're mine, Lucky, only mine." he said through kisses. His tongue licked my bottom lips, asking for entrance. However, I kept my lips tightly shut. Perhaps after everything that had happened, Josh, the bond and my father, where everything and everyone wanted me to do their biddings, I was tired of obeying.

This time, I would be the one taking control. I bit down on his lip, loving his groan as he opened his mouth in surprise. My tongue explored his mouth as his tongue explored mine. His hand travelled up to my bra, cupping one of my boobs.

"Oh for the love of Xbox. Seriously, you two? Can't a guy wake up to get some blood without hearing moans of pleasure?" Logan's voice cut through our passion filled moment. He caught us both off guard. I squealed and took cover behind Nick, who pushed me behind him taking a protective stance. As much as Logan might be an awesome guy, he's a total pervert and standing in front of him in my bra was not something I wanted to do.

"What the hell are you doing here? Get out, Logan!" Nick snarled at him. However Logan did exactly the opposite. He leaned onto the frame of the door, looking like the picture of ease.

"Yeah, sure." he said with a wave of his hand. "But to be honest, I'm kind of confused. I took you two more for the, 'let's make it special' kind of couple, but I guess I was wrong. You're more of the 'shut up and do me on the sweaty gym floor' kind. Seriously, though, respect brother." he said to Nick, bowing down slightly to mock us.

"Logan," Nick said in a threatening voice. I swear that if you say another word, the floor will no longer be just sweaty but bloody too."

"Oh, I'm shaking. Big threat for a guy who can barely move because of a giant stiffy." Logan said wickedly. I was so embarrassed by now that I felt that the tips of my ears would just burn off. Not to mention that the bond was feeding me in Nick's embarrassment too.

Nick was left speechless so I decided to help him out. "Logan, what's it going to take for you to shut up about this whole incident and never speak of it again?"

"Sorry Lucy, but just tonight I have enough material to doom the both of you for the rest of your life. You'll be so embarrassed, that your children's children will feel it." he said. I sighed and ignored him. Instead I walked over to where my shirt was lying and wore it.

"Seriously, Logan? After all the times I covered up for you from mum and dad? _This _is how you freaking repay me. Unbelievable." Nick spat in disgust.

"You don't get it do you? I just saved you from making the biggest mistake of your lives, that's all."

"Yeah, yeah, we've heard it all before." Nick said in annoyance.

"Sure you did. But did either of you imagine the consequences? You barely know anything about the bond. What if you managed you managed to knock her up huh? Did either of you even think about getting protection?" Nick and I looked at each other solemnly.

"We didn't plan it, alright? It's just something that takes over in the worse imaginable moments." I answered him. Nick nodded in agreement. "You have no idea what's it like. One moment we're arguing, the next we're kissing."

Logan smiled at us. "Well, in all honesty, your relationship has always been dysfunctional since you were kids."

Nick and I looked at each other knowing. Logan was right.

"Anyways, if I may ask. I doubt that you came down here in the gym cause it excites you or because of Lucy's love of fitness." I gave him a sarcastic snort. "What were you doing down here before um passion took over?"

"Well, she pulled me out of bed to teach her how to fight. She's adamant on her idea to double cross her father, which is just plain stupid." I rolled my eyes at Nick and looked up at Logan. The brilliant look in his eyes told me that he was on to something.

"Logan... tell her that it's a stupid idea." Nick said cautiously.

Logan shifted uncomfortably. "Well, truthfully she does have a point."

Nick groaned loudly and massaged his temples. "I can't believe you're buying this too. She can't do this!"

I fumed. "And why not?" I said a bit more loudly than I intended to.

"Because I don't want to loose you, that's why." he snarled back at me.

That shut me up and sent all my spiteful comments bubbling down my throat.

"Nick..." I said softly. I placed my hand softly on his arm.

"Please," he said, his usually silky voice sounding broken. "Don't do this. The last time you met one of your dad's men you barely escaped with your life. If something happens to you and I don't make it in time to help you I'd blame myself for the rest of my life."

I pulled him in a hug. "Nick, don't speak like that. I will learn to defend myself. I'm not helpless you know. Right now Montmarte is a priority, and my dad is like the golden ticket to Willy Wonka's chocolate factory. We need to take this chance." I said, my voice threatening to break with every sentence.

"No we don't. Not when your life is at stake." He said, his grip tightening around me.

"If I don't do this then Solange's life might be at stake. I have the chance to save her and I will take it no matter what. I'm sorry but this is not something negotiable. You're either in with us or you're not." I said solemnly.

He cupped my face between his hands. His eyes bared his feelings completely. Anger, regret, helplessness. It pained me to see him like this.

He took a deep breath before opening his eyes to me. "Fine. I'm in. But if you're going to do this, don't think for one second that I'm going to let you go out there before you're prepared. Solange will turn in a week and a half, so you have till then to get ready. I'll need to see some serious determination." He told me. He wiped away the tear that had formed at my eye. I nodded.

"I'll become such a great fighter that I'll be able to kick your ass blindfolded while jumping on one leg."

Hearing his beautiful smile again gave me hope and determination. "That's my girl."

~§~

I know that this chapter is extremely short. And I know that many of you wanted to read about the hot looove between Lucy and Nick, however as we all know writers are bitches and do exactly the opposite, most of the time. So um... muahhahaha I guess :P ( I JUST DIDN't WANT DOBBY TO DIE OKAY, BUT HE DID. TOUGH LOVE)

This was just a filler chap. I had 2 reasons why I wrote it. 1) It was a birthday present for myself. Yes, I am one year closer to death. Sixteen... ugh I feel old xD

Secondly, I have started my O levels and from now on, I need to focus on my studies. Seriously these are life changing exams. So bare with me.

Don't worry though, this story will be continued. After my O levels (which end 23rd May) I will update **at least** once a week. I am not a quitter! I owe you guys that much. So put your socks on tightly cause I'll knock 'em off with all the action.

And you'll get your hot, steamy, passionate love scene between the two love doves... if I feel like it *insert clap of thunder and evil laughter :P)

One last question. How do you feel about my writing? Would you consider reading more stories of mine? (not fan fictions)

Let me know!


	29. White Lies

**Chapter 29: White Lies.**

**§ Lucy §**

"Please... I... can't... breath. I have to... stop." I said, my breath coming out in short pants. I was afraid that my lungs were literally on fire. It could not be possible that running half a mile would cause such a burning sensation, could it?

Well yes, it probably could. I have a record of how many times I'd skipped P.E.

And now, cruel fate had it that I'd have to make up for all those missed P.E. lessons during the past for years in barely a week.

My laziness had finally bitten me in the butt.

"Oh come on, this isn't so bad. We haven't been running for long." Logan said to me in a perfectly calm voice. While I was sweating my body mass in sweat, he seemed perfectly at ease.

"Easy for you to say... you've got your super-vamp stamina." I told him, still utterly breathless.

"Yes, and now we're trying to build yours. You need to remember that vampires are considerably stronger and more agile than you, so you need to make up for these disadvantages somehow. And you do that by having a strong stamina. If someone is running after you and you can't attack him or her, you need to run away. Now the question is, will you be able to outrun them?"

I wanted answer that question with a reassuring yes, but that would be an act of hubris on my part. I was not ready. Not even close. And to make it worse, time was running out. What I would do during this one week will have repercussions on Sol's life. I could get the Drake the information that they desperately needed and secure Sol's life, or I could fail miserably and that would lead to many more complications.

However the latter was not an option. I owned Solange my life. Without knowing she had saved me many times. Whenever the thoughts of attempting suicide came to my mind, I'd come to her home and she'd wipe them out of my mind without even trying, just by being my one and only real friend.

Secondly, I could never live knowing that my dad was out there. The man whom I had put on a pedestal all my life was nothing but a mere coward afraid of death, who's hubris had driven him to turning his entire family into monsters, rogue vampires, the likes that Montmarte created. I clung on to his memory, hoping that he hadn't truly left us. No, he did much worse, he went against his very humanity, and he expected me to follow willingly in his path.

Well he was sourly mistaken if he thought I would. And he'd find out just how mistaken he was when I would plunge that stake into his cold, dead heart.

"Very good, Lucy, if you keep up this pace you'll have much improved." Logan said to me with a small smile. I looked next to me, but he wasn't there. I had surpassed him by a good ten feet. The power of anger could truly do miraculous things.

After our run, I found myself horribly soar, but it felt good in a way because I knew that it meant that I was giving it my all. I went in Solange's bathroom next to her room to shower and came out feeling much more relaxed. With a towel wrapped firmly around me, I went in her room and I reached for the bag of clothes I brought with me from my old house. I hadn't noticed that I wasn't the only one in the room.

I felt a pair of arms wrap themselves around me. Fresh and awake after my shower, I turned around swiftly and pushed the intruder backwards on the bed. When I heard the familiar chuckle I relaxed, however I didn't get off him.

"I see you've really been training. You honestly took me by surprise." Nick said huskily. I felt tempted to lean down on those few inches and let our lips touch, and I knew that was the reason in the first place why he came into the room, but I knew that wearing nothing but a pair of panties under a towel was not only risky, it was walking on extremely dangerous grounds so I got off him. His small pout of disappointment was about the cutest thing in the world, but it wouldn't distract me from my goal.

"You look awfully distracted today, is something wrong?" he asked me as he sat up on the bed.

"No, absolutely nothing. I was just wondering about stuff." I answered vaguely as I gathered a pair of shorts, a top and a bra. I went back inside the bathroom and discarded the towel and put on my bra and shirt.

"Stuff? What kind of stuff? Because I know that some of the stuff you think about is downright scary." he asked me with alarm written all over his voice.

"I was just thinking that it was about time that we put our plan in action. We have about a week till Sol turns. Don't you think it's about time to meet my father?" I asked him as I fiddled with my pair of shorts in my hands. Just as I had finished the question he burst into the room. I yelped a bit in surprise.

"No, I don't think so. You shouldn't even think about this. You've been training for two days, do you think that's enough to turn you into an able fighter?" he asked incredulously.

"I don't plan on fighting him. I want to talk to him, get an idea of what he wants me to do and perhaps get small titbits of information." I said calmly as I tried to put on my shorts. Unfortunately, two was a crowd in the small bathroom and I lost my footing as I tried jumping around to put on my shorts. Thankfully, Nick was quick and steadied me, catching me by the hips. However, he didn't let me go after I had regained my footing. He kept his hold on me, and with one hand he held me tightly against himself and with the other he took hold of me by the chin, making me look up in his eyes. I looked down, knowing that he was going to try to guilt me into going back on my plans.

"Lucy, look up. Please." he said, an edge of frustration clear in his voice. I did as he told me.

"Why? Why do you want to put your life in danger like that? There is another way and yet you, you obstinate, proud girl, you want to take the hard road. You may think that you want to kill your father, but I know you. I know how much you loved him.

Even if by some miracle you manage to kill him, it's going to permanently scar you. Please, I beg you, Lucy, give it up. Don't risk yourself. If you won't do it for yourself, do it for me. I can't bare the consequences that this will have on you." his voice was low and raw with emotion. His words affected me in ways I did not want to deal with. The made my plans, my revenge, waver and falter for one dubious moment.

It broke my heart, seeing him so torn by my decision. But I couldn't back down. Not now, not when Sol's live could be saved from Montmarte.

There was but one thing that I could do.

"You're right." I said, trying hard to sound as defeated as possible.

"I know how much this- wait what? I'm _right?" _He asked me, his voice turning incredulous. He removed his hold on chin and I rubbed the spot where he had held me. He mumbled a small 'sorry', but he regarded me with a look of utter suspicion. I had to make it believable.

"I don't want to hurt you and revenge is not as important to me as you are. We will find another way, right? We will protect Sol together." I said with a small smile. The small frown between his brows was slowly disappearing, which meant that he was starting to trust me.

"Yes of course. Um... thanks Lucy, I'm glad I could change your mind." he said sheepishly. I bit my lip at the cute expression on his face. I hated myself for doing this to him.

I went next to him and hugged him, because at least I wouldn't have to look in his eyes while doing so. He kissed me on top of my head and buried his nose in my freshly washed hair, tickling me softly.

With every passing moment, I realised just how much I didn't deserve him.

"Aw, you two are honestly the most adorable thing ever!" Sol's voice interrupted our little moment. She was just outside the bathroom in her bedroom, looking sweetly at the two of us.

Nick let go of me, and I could see the tale-telling shade of red spread over his pale cheeks. That reminded me, he was probably due for blood.

We both were not used to acting like a couple in front of his family members. It was weird for both of us.

"Just came in here to get some rest, and you two should too. It's almost dawn, you know." she said. "I don't want to disturb though, so if you want a few more minutes I can go downstairs for a while."

"It's okay, Sol, go to bed. We'll be coming soon." I said as I took his hand and led him out of the bedroom.

"Wait, guys I hate to rain on your parade but don't sleep in the same room, at least not on your own. You know what mum and dad said, you shouldn't be left on your own, especially not in those situations," she said cautiously. Nick look scorned but grunted in agreement, I on the other hand was glad that she brought that up, I felt too guilty to sleep, let alone in suck proximity to him.

"We won't sleep in the same bed, don't worry. I'll be right here, in a moment." I told her before dragging Nick into his room.

"What, couldn't sleep before I kiss you goodnight?" Nick asked me with a small smirk on his lips. I smiled back. "No, jackass. You look really pale, I just thought that you'd need blood. Come on, we don't have much time." I said as I shifted my hair to one side of my shoulder and tilted my head to the right angle.

His grimace was clear on his face. "What? don't deny that you need this."

"I just don't like it. I don't like how much we both like doing this. It's dirty, Luce, I'm using you like some donor." he said guiltily.

I shrugged. "I honestly don't mind."

He snorted at me. "Of course you don't you love it. You're addicted to the morphine in my saliva. Addict." he teased. I shook my head at him and sat down on his bed. He followed me; the traces of a faint smile still clear on his features.

As usual, he never bit down at once. No, the good old Nicky, the one who like to tease me was still in there, somewhere. He would breathe softly down my neck, sending chills rocketing throughout my body and then I'd feel his soft lips on my neck. If he were feeling particularly cocky, like just about now, he'd lick my neck before the bite, making me blush.

I felt the small pressure like two small mosquito bites. He took some blood, however, being the gentleman he is, he never took as much as he needed, so that I wouldn't feel dizzy afterwards.

He kissed my neck softly before licking the bite marks, making them heal at once.

"I'm going to miss you tonight. The bed doesn't feel as soft as it does when you're in here with me." he said huskily in my ear. I closed my eyes and bit my lip, trying to stop him from tempting me.

"I'll miss you more," I said. Stupid, stupid, stupid! I would have never said something so cheesy, at least when I had a clear conscience.

He must have noticed that too because he frowned slightly at me before kissing my forehead softly. I took that as my cue to go. I bid him goodnight and left, straight to Sol's room.

Sol smiled once I entered the room, glad that I had actually listened to her. She was a light sleeper, but she fell asleep quite quickly. I lay in bed for hours, but my troubled mind wouldn't let me sleep. I kept thinking about my plan, about the consequences it could have. But I felt it in my bones. I had to do this.

I got up and dressed quickly in a pair of jeans and a tee-shirt. I grabbed a jacket since it was still quite early in the morning and the air was chilly. I put on my army boots and looked down at Sol's sleeping form.

_For you Sol, for everything you've ever done for me._

I made my way to Nick's room. Thankfully he was fast asleep. I searched around his room for his car keys and was quite glad when I found them. I leaned down on his sleeping form and kissed ever so softly the top of his head.

"I love you." I whispered softly, fighting back my tears from falling. "I'm sorry."

I exited the room and went directly outside where his MG was. I inserted the key in the ignition and started the car; at first driving slowly so that I could get out of the Drake's drive way unnoticed.

He'd kill me if he ever found out that I was driving it, so I was taking a really huge chance here.

However, that didn't matter now, because I was finally going to meet my monster of a father.

XXX

DUN DUN DUN! SHE LIED :O

Yes, I am finally back! WOOHO! 24 exams in a month people! O Levels are freaking hard but they're finally over and I'm finally getting around to continuing this story. It's nearly coming to an end.

BTW, interesting fact. Some of you may know that I'm not a native English speaker, and I've just learned the difference between laid and lay. I know for a fact that I've always written 'laid' as in past of lie (as in lie on the couch). I've finally learned the error of my ways.

**To those of you who want to keep reading my works after Unforgivable Decisions:**

Since this story will be soon coming to an end, if you guys want to keep in contact with me and my writing, now's the time to do it! On my profile there's the link to my Wattpad page where I write my original stories. I write 2 Teen Fiction Stories called 'Rock 'n' Roll ruined my Life' and 'Once Upon my Polka Dot Undies, both equally humorous.

And in the future I plan on writing a kick ass fantasy story featuring a werewolf protagonist.(none of that "The alpha just rejected me as his mate so I'll go screw the first loser I see to make him jealous" crap. I hate that werewolf cliché. If you got to know me over this story you know that blood and gore is my thing, mixed with humour and a bit of romance too :)

I also like science fiction but I don't want to start too many projects at once.

Just for those of you who wanted to know!

Tell me what you think about this chapter! I love hearing your opinions! Until the next time my Nicholas-loving lovelies :D


	30. Meeting the Devil

**Chapter 30: Meeting the Devil**

**§ Lucy §**

"I'm going to die." I repeated the short sentence all over again as I tried to keep my eyes open. The wind whipped past me, howling in my ears. The breeze was playing softly with my hair, making my curls even more frizzy.

I gripped the steering of the car with both hands in a vice-like grip. Nick's metallic black MG might look like a small sports car, but it packed some serious power underneath the hood.

Power that I honestly wasn't able to control properly.

If the car didn't manage to kill me before I arrived at the destination in mind, I was sure that Nick would. Nick was and will always be a stick in the mud; the over-protective side of him becoming dominant when someone he cared about was in danger. To be honest, he was probably the most mature guy I've ever met. I've accepted this about him, and I loved it about him because it kept in check my reckless side. I was the action girl, the one that made things happen, the one who didn't think twice about the consequences.

Our characters were like fire and ice, both equally stubborn, but in the end we balanced each other perfectly.

But, despite all this, I knew a few methods to make him bend a little and overlook my audacity. However there was one thing that he was completely unreasonable about, and that was his car.

I don't know what had possessed me in the first place to take it. I could have taken Solange's Smart. But I took his goddamned sports car that not only scared me shitless but was also probably going to send me to an untimely death.I inhaled deeply and as the rich musky smell with that little hint of sweetness I couldn't recognise filled my lungs, I knew why.

Everything about the car reminded me of him, the smell of his cologne that smelled so fresh, of the woods during springtime and yet just enough heart-breaking sweetness to make my mouth water a little at just the thought. Plus, the body of the car itself was almost... sexy. It held that deep dark allure just like Nick.

This car also held so many precious memories of the two of us. In almost two weeks, Nick has become one of the most important people in my life.

But now that I was thinking about it, perhaps he was just as important even before the bond. Even when all we did was bicker, he was a reason for me to keep fighting. I would be lying to myself if I said that many times, the only reason why I just didn't end it all was because of an unfinished petty argument with him. Our silly, childish little arguments were one of the crucial things that made me keep going on.

But now, by getting in this car I'd done something that I'm afraid was unforgivable. I promised him I wouldn't do this, and yet I did anyways. I knew that this was one argument that could ruin everything we've built.

The roundabout came up, and I was faced with a life-changing decision.

I could have turned around and acted like I'd never even gone out, went back in bed and listened to the voice of reason and for once send my pride to hell.

But I kept going. There was no turning back now.

I felt my eyes turn uncomfortably moist, but before they could shed any betraying tears, I wiped them with the back of my sleeve.

I bit my lip as I tried to control my emotions. One too many strong emotion could warn Nick through the bond and I couldn't have that. Thankfully he was still sleeping peacefully. I could feel a small buzz at the back of my mind, and I could tell that it was the flow of his peaceful, perfectly happy emotions, which I suspected were brought forth by a dream. I smiled, knowing that he was content. After what we'd seen at my house and the nightmares that we'd both had for days, I was glad to know that he was finally getting over them.

I gripped the steering wheel tighter, trying to summon all my courage. Nick could get rid of his demons, because in truth they weren't his. Most of them were mine, and the only way for both of us to get rid of them completely was for me to face them.

And for the sake of our happiness, I'd do it, even if it almost kills me.

XXX

The cafeteria I had chosen was not that crowded, but there were enough people who guaranteed my safety as I knew that my followers would never do anything which could compromise the security of the biggest secret of their world , that vampires actually existed.

Plus, the worn out cafeteria, with it's wallpaper peeling off and matt wooden floors that used to be shiny back in it's glory days was the place where my father used to take us on our birthdays or special occasions to get a good English breakfast.

I knew for a fact that I had been followed all the way from about two miles away from the Drake's farmhouse. Though they were doing it very subtly, I had kept a very sharp eye on the road and was able to detect them almost instantly in an inconspicuous Mercedes that had tinted windows.

I sat down at one of the red cushioned boots, the red looking more than slightly fading. An old woman wearing a stained white apron walked towards me to get my order. I ordered a black coffee that I added two teaspoons of sugar to. The caffeine in my system did wondrous things for me. I sighed and closed my eyes, trying to make myself ready for this but I knew that even if I had all eternity to prepare myself, I still wouldn't ever be ready.

I bit my lip and held the warm cup tighter in my hands. "I know that you've been following me." I said out loud. Whoever was tailing me was probably a vampire so the super hearing would allow them to pick up on my voice from the low voices of the other customers.

"I just want to talk, okay. I need to see you." I said, trying hard to keep my voice from breaking. For a full five minutes, nothing happened. I had almost run out of coffee as I gulped more of the scorching liquid with nervousness.

I was about to give up and go back to the Drakes when I heard a voice I hadn't heard in years come from behind me.

"Lulu," my heart stopped beating from one short moment. The one word caused a thousand different emotions to come crashing down on me. I had forgotten how to breathe regularly as at the sound of the old nickname I had inhaled a lungful of air and I was afraid to let it go, as I was afraid that if I did, I'd also let all my defences crumble.

_Be strong. He's no longer your father._

I turned around, conscious of every single move I was making. I felt my eyes squeeze when my eyes fell on the handsome man in his late thirties whom I once called 'dad'. He hadn't aged a day since he left us. Of course, he wouldn't. He was a vampire. He'd traded the souls of his family for immortality.

"Dad," I acknowledged him. My voice wavered dangerously, but there was nothing I could do about it. The word I had just uttered burned at the back of my throat, almost like my mind couldn't accept that I'd just said it.

"You're so beautiful, my princess. I've been watching you since the day I left, but I've never seen you so closely. You're becoming as beautiful as your mother." he said, his voice soft, just a few octaves above a whisper.

For what seemed like an eternity, I tried to force a "thank you" out of my mouth. When I did, it came out in a raspy whisper. I indicated him to sit down at the seat in front of me, as I was at loss of words.

The diligent waitress, noticing that my mug was almost out of coffee and that my dad had joined me, strutted over towards our table.

"Anything I can get you?" she asked us, her pot of coffee in her hands. I pushed the mug towards her and muttered a quick, "Refill please." I needed all the caffeine I could get to make it through this little chat. It all felt so surreal. I hoped that the taste of coffee on my taste buds and the caffeine in my system would prove to me that this was in fact, real.

I dared to look at my father who was looking at my mug with disapproval, however the waitress had already filled my mug.

"Anything else?" she asked us, her voice sounding too damn chirpy. Who could be this peppy at such an early hour?

"Yes, one serving of English breakfast for my daughter, please. Look at her; she's as thin as a twig. Might as well get some meat on those bones." The waitress did a double take as she took in my father. Immortality took away every wrinkle that had marked his skin. His golden skin was now pale. He had this timeless look about him. He could have honestly passed for someone who'd just seen his late twenties. In a few words, it was unbelievable that I was his daughter. Only someone with a very keen eye could pick out the resemblance between us, which had been almost completely destroyed by his immortality.

However, the waitress nodded. "You're right. Kids these days, huh?" she said before leaving to get out order.

His gaze then turned on me. "I don't like seeing you drink that, Lucy. It's bad for you," he said. _So was you abandoning us, _I wanted to say, but I pursed my lips tightly.

I raised the cup to my lip and drank, looking him straight in the eyes. He smiled for a while, a chilling experience for me. "You were always defiant, weren't you? Even now after I had everything planned out to the last detail. Nothing that I couldn't easily arrange, of course. In fact, it might be quite beneficial for us." I looked quizzically at him, my expression demanding answers.

"I'm talking about your blood bond, of course. You and the youngest Drake male, if I was informed correctly." I nodded robotically.

"My daughter, the only living blood bonded we know of. Even nature itself wanted you to join our night world. We've got so much to learn from you," he said. "You know what this means, right? By being blood bonded to a Drake, you'll become a part of the royal family once Master claims the young Drake girl as his. We'll be one of the most influential families in the night world." he said, his voice filled with awe at the prospect of what he thought my blood bond implied.

"Aren't you excited?" he asked me.

I nodded, trying to make an effort to smile. So far, this meeting was not going well at all. My inability to speak in front of him would get me nothing, so I popped the first question that came to my mind.

"Where are Mum and Josh?" I asked, my voice sounding quite rough even to my own ears.

"Don't you worry, they're safe." he put a hand over mine. It took every ounce of self-control not to retract my hand. His skin felt cool, way too cool. It was almost physically painful for me to be in such proximity to him, let alone having him touch me.

I swallowed; trying to hide my blatant discomfort. I came here for a reason and I would be damned if I didn't carry it out.

"So, if I may ask, how does Montmarte exactly plan on taking the crown from Natasha? Solange has no need for such power and she would never do anything to take her place." I asked trying to keep my voice neutral.

"All in due time, my dear. Your friend is destined for marvellous things, and my master is a very remarkable man. The prophecy will run its course. We can't fight destiny. She will become queen, however it would be most useful to her if Master is by her side, and he is willing to take down Natasha and help her get the throne earlier. All she has to do is accept, which I why I want you to tell her so. She trusts you," he said to me. How close had he been all these years if he knew just how close Sol and I were?

"So you want her to join Montmarte. What happens if she doesn't accept?" I challenged. A dark look crossed his face. I had a feeling that he wasn't used to people questioning his farsighted plans.

"Unnecessary war and bloodshed will take place. Is that what she wants?" he asked me, his voice taking on a very dangerous note.

The waitress chose this precise moment to bring the food. Though I loved food, the monster in front of me completely drained me out of my appetite, and that was saying something. The waitress left so I picked up a fork and took a bit of the scrambled eggs. They were delicious but I swallowed them down with difficulty, as I was too aware of my father's scrutinizing gaze.

I looked up and found him staring at me intently, waiting for a reply. I nodded. "I'll tell her. I promise." I said, failing to hide the note of fear in my voice.

My father's gaze softened. "Don't be afraid, Lulu, I know this glorious form can be intimidating at first. But trust me, once you are turned you'll see the world with brand new eyes." he said.

"But you can't turn me." I said defensively. "Only Nick can; my blood is poison to other vampires." I said. My father's eyes filled with uncertainty for one moment. "That is not really a problem though, he will turn you eventually." he said.

"Why would he? He's fine with me being human, and so am I." I pointed out.

"Don't be blind, Lucy. You will never be his equal in that form," he said, making my humanity sound like some sort of vile disease. "You'll be weaker and you'll die eventually."

I felt humiliated that such a thing had to be delivered to me by my father. It felt as if someone had poured a bucket of ice all over me.

I would have to become a vampire eventually. Just like him. I couldn't help but compare this soulless man to the Drakes. While death radiated off him, the Drakes were full of life. Their skin didn't seem as cold, and it certainly didn't make mine crawl.

A mixture of emotions settled down deep in the pit of my stomach.

I looked down and continued stuffing forkfuls of food in my mouth, though it started tasting foul. My father was going on about how happy we'd be, how proud he was that I had bonded with a Drake and how much honour I would bring to my family. I felt drained as a whirlpool of feelings thundered within me.

But then it hit me at full blast.

Deep, white-hot anger. I'd never felt such a strong emotion before. I felt as if I was in the middle of an ocean during a storm and wave after wave of deep-set anger kept coming down on me at a tremendous force.

The low buzz that had represented Nick's emotions in my mind was gone. Then I'd realised that the anger I'd just felt wasn't mine. It was Nick's. How he could feel such strong emotions without his heart exploding was beyond me.

My father noticed the sudden change of demeanour as Nick's anger filled me.

"Is it the bond? Can the boy communicate with you telepathically?" he asked me, suddenly intrigued. I could barely answer, my brain felt like it was going to explode.

"I've got to go." I said as I got up swiftly and left some money on the table. My father followed me outside. His phone rung just in time and he announced to me that he had to go, but he made it clear that this was not going to be our last meeting. He embraced me in the end.

Now I knew completely how Draco felt when Voldemort hugged him.

He left, so fast that it almost seemed like he disappeared. I ran for the car. I inserted the key with shaky hands but Nick's anger intensified so much inside of me that my knees buckled and I dropped down. I knew that I was in no state to drive a car. My hands were shaking heavily as I reached for my phone.

Resenting this moment, I found Nick's number and called him.

He picked up on the first ring. "Nick," I said in a breathless voice.

"Lucy, where the fuck are you? I wake up, find that you're missing and then I found that my _car _was missing. I just know you had something to do with this. What the hell did you do?" he asked me, his voice sounding furious.

"I'll tell you later but you need to calm down. I can feel how angry you are and I can barely stand up because of it. I... I need you to come and get me." I said weakly.

"What? Did you crash the car? Are you injured? For fuck's sake, Lucy you're killing me here." his voice was loud and hopeless.

"No, just please stop being angry. It's literally causing me physical pain." I said, hating how my voice came out like I was begging.

"I'm in the park in the middle of town." I said. I knew how much he wanted to ask me more questions, but he hung up after telling me that he's be here in ten minutes.

True to his word, ten minutes later Logan's car pulled up next to the MG. I had been able to at least stand up and get inside the car.

Nick and Logan rushed over.

"Is she okay?" Logan asked as Nick grabbed me and held me tightly in a bone-crushing hug. I nodded. "Yeah, I was just overwhelmed by the bond. I'll survive." I said to him, feeling my strength slowly returning. The physical contact between me and Nick was doing wonders to my headache. I could feel Nick's anger and concern melt as he held me, however his worry wasn't gone completely.

"Lucy. What were you thinking? Why the hell did you come to the park, of all places? And why did you take my car?" he asked me.

I looked down, afraid of seeing his expression once I told him why. Feeling his emotions was already painful enough; I didn't need them displayed out to me like some cruel show.

"I did it. I met my father. I know what Montmarte's planning."

XXX

Hmm, not entirely satisfied with the outcome of this chapter. I finish this story soon so I have about ten chapters or so left and that makes me kinda sad, I'll really miss you guys.

Until the next time, my lovelies :D

(P.S for those of you who are curious, yes, I'm not a native English speaker and my native language is Maltese. It's a Semitic language only used in a small island called Malta in the Mediterranean. I live there. Apart from English and Maltese, I'm fluent in Italian and I've been studying French for 5 years and hopefully will improve : )


	31. Bite the Bullet

**Chapter 31: Bite the Bullet**

**§ Nick §**

"Logan, you can go back home. I'll drive my car back." I said, trying hard to keep my voice impassive despite all the thoughts that were running through my head.

Logan nodded, a grim look replacing his usual friendly expression. A small sigh escaped his lips. Even though he was not involved as deeply as I was in this whole business with Lucy and her father, he know well enough that a long, tedious argument was in the making, and honestly, everybody was a loser when either Lucy or I were angry.

I let my expression take on a stoic feel as I walked on the other side of the car to the driver's seat. As I sat down, Lucy didn't even bother to look up, and seemed completely fixated on the floor of the car. I drove off after Logan, gripping the steering with unnecessary force.

I was trying hard not to think about what the stubborn bitch next to me had just done, but I just couldn't. My mind was cruel, it kept replaying a thousand different scenarios where her father killed her, or injured her. I kept imagining her paralyzed in a bed, only breathing because of the machinery attached to her. The more I thought about it, the more I felt like I was about to explode.

A loud groan broke me out of my reverie. I looked over at Lucy whose expression was one of pure agony. She was holding her head between her hands, massaging her temples. I felt guilty that my own emotions were causing her pain, but I couldn't help it. I pulled on the shoulder at the side of the road and switched off the car. I rested my head against the steering wheel, trying to calm my rabid thoughts.

The thick silence was unbearable, however I made no effort to break it, she was the one who spoke up first.

"Nick," she said, her voice sounding soft, almost soothing. She reached out to touch my arm, but I retracted it away. I could see the hurt in her eyes. "I- I know you're mad," she started, but I interrupted her.

I sat up straight as laughter that was more caused by hysteria than anything else bubbled up my throat.

"Mad? Try furious, or... I don't – disappointed. Or perhaps scared shitless is more appropriate."

She bit her lip, a sign that she was at loss of what to say, but I was nowhere near finished. "You know what sucks the most though? That I didn't see this coming. I mean, seriously, when was the last time when you actually gave a fuck about what I had to say, eh? No, you're too good for that." Her jaw hung open at my words. I wanted to stop, but I couldn't find it in me to do so.

"I should have known, you know, when you started acting all romantic and wouldn't even look me in the eyes. Big surprise there, aye, turns out you're not just an arrogant bitch, but you're also a coward." I had no idea how I was able to say these things to her. I could see every word I'd said cut deep. I had never seen anyone almost reduce Lucy to tears like I'd just done.

I wanted to stop, but I just couldn't. I kept blabbing out everything my cruel mind was thinking of.

"No care, no fucking consideration at all. You know, when we bonded, I did have my doubts too, but they weren't about how we'd have to cope with it, no, they were about you. You're so fucking unpredictable. It's not even cute anymore. We've passed cute when you burned down your mother's house. Now it's just reckless. Do you even stop for one moment and thing about your actions, how they could affect others? What if you hadn't been lucky and your father injured you or kidnapped you? Did you think for one moment how that would make me feel? Well even though it went just how you predicted, let me just tell you in case the bond is not enough. I'm fucking tired of being scared of what your next crazy plot will be. I'm even more tired of how you just throw your life out there like you have a back up one. I'm young, Lucy, but I know that one of these days, when your crazy plans blow up in your face and kill you, it'll be me who's going to deal with the consequences you've never even bothered to acknowledge."

I looked at her as my mouth spewed hateful words at her. I was tearing her to pieces, the girl I loved. One of the things that I loved about her was that she would never let anyone put her in her place. And yet now, as we stood in my car, she didn't even bother to look up.

This enraged me even more. The fact that she wasn't even putting up a fight made me question who the girl next to me was. She wasn't the girl I had fallen in love with without even realising.

I had lost my last nerve. I grabbed her by the shoulders and shook her hard. With one hand, I jerked her face up. Her eyes still wouldn't meet mine, but the silent tears rolling down her cheeks were evident now. It cut me deep that I was the reason why those tears had stained her beautiful face in the first place.

"What the fuck is wrong with you, Lucy? Who are you? You're supposed to shout back at me, call me names, make me feel like the worst person on the planet for what I'd just said." I said to her, still gripping her shoulders tightly.

Slowly, her eyes met mine, and I could see the pain. I could also feel her pain through the bond. It felt like a numbing feeling, almost like I couldn't feel my chest.

"Why?" she asked me, her voice sounding broken, "So that I could calm you down, you'd kiss me and we'd end up half-naked to forget about our problems like we've been doing the past few days? What's the use? Every word you're saying is true. You could never understand why I did this." She told me. I acted out of the frustration I was feeling and pulled her towards me, wrapping my arms tightly around her and removing any chance that she could escape. There was no air between us, just friction.

"No," I said, my voice sounding slightly muffled because my lips were touching her head. "You're wrong. I can understand, just help me to do so."

"Nick, I can never be free of my past – my brother hitting me, my mother neglecting me or my father abandoning me. I can't be free of it, so it's best if I eliminate it. My family is my demon, Nick; they will haunt me forever unless I do something about them. I can never have peace of mind, knowing that they're out there. I want us to be happy, and because of the bond, neither of us can be happy if the other is not. I don't want you to suffer because of me, and I know that my actions seem careless and that you're hurting because of them, but trust me, you'll hurt more in the future if I don't deal with my demons now that I have the strength to do so." she said.

"Fine okay, but you don't have to battle them alone. I'm here for you, we could do this together." I said, trying hard to sound strong for her. I had just realised how frail and vulnerable our relationship was, emotional wise. I had been fooled by our physical connection, thinking that nothing could come between us because we were united. Physically, we were more connected than anybody liked, but emotionally? We were on an entirely different scale from each other.

I realised Lucy was more broken than she let on. She was also far more mature than we when it came to making amends with the past.

I felt like a little rich kid compared to her. It was amazing how someone who had almost nothing to their name could make me question my entire existence like this.

She shook her head at my words. "No, I must do this myself. I-"

"Don't say that, Lucy. You're right, you must fight your demons, but we are bound, so your demons are automatically mine too. I don't want to hear you speak like this ever again, like you're fighting some secret crusade that I can't be a part of. You need stop thinking that you're some big misfortune that ruined my life. I love you, Lucy and I don't care if I have to spend the rest of my life fighting your - _our _demons. Just let me in, you're no longer alone now." I said softly to her. She stopped sobbing for a moment and looked up, then slowly she nodded her head.

"I'm still sorry that you have to go through all of this because of me. I know that I have a lot of baggage to deal with and I'm not sure that I'm worth all this trouble," she said warily.

I shook my head softly at her. "Of course you are, Lucy, you're worth the world." I told her before kissing the top of her head.

"I... I love you Nick, I hope you know that." she said, her voice breaking at the end.

"Of course I do." I answered her. Her cautious voice made a little smile play with my lips.

A small smile found its way on her lips too. "Good, you'll need to remember that around me. I'll try to be more open, but sometimes I can't help it. You'll need to be patient with me." She admitted shyly. I laughed, all previous sense of worry and anger were long gone.

"Lucky, I knew what I signed up for the moment I saved you that night." I told her. "And I don't regret a thing."

At this point, the usual twinkle of mischief that seemed ever-present in her eyes returned. "Oh really, so you predicted that you and I were going to be blood bound? Seriously Nicky, I never knew you were psychic too apart from annoying."

I grinned at her, "No, I didn't but when I started getting close to you I knew that you were a bitch. A bitch who could throw a mean punch and swear more than all of me and my brothers combined."

She snorted, "Oh please, do you hear yourself talk? If Helena knew how you spoke most of the time you'd have a permanent red print of a hand on your cheek from all the times she'd smack you." she countered. I mused on it for a while but then nodded with a resolved sigh. I did swear more than I liked to admit.

"I think we should be getting back home, the guys are probably worried sick. I kind of accused every one of my brothers of selling my car... or worse, using it." I said, shuddering at the thought that someone put their hands on my baby.

"So even I'm not allowed to use it?" she challenged me. I grunted a noncommittal grunt, knowing that no matter how I answered, she'd use it against me. My car was the one thing I had difficulty sharing. Well, truth be told, I was not a guy who liked to share his stuff in the first place. Living in a household of brothers, I'd learned it the hard way that sharing was inevitable, and so was the fact that half of the items I'd share would end up thorn or broken.

She chuckled to herself. "Boys and their toys."

I took her hand and placed in on the clutch before I covered it with mine, she smiled at me, and I could see her lowering down her barriers and relaxing in the seat of the car. I drove off, back home. However, I could feel that the effect of the cruel words I'd said to her remained. It was evident even without the bond.

I cleared my throat first, unsure of how my apology would be received. "I still wanted to apologise for what I said. It wasn't fair on you. I took out my anger and frustration on you. I should have known better."

"Seriously Nicky, it's okay. That's what we do, remember? We fight but then we always make up." she told me, her voice sounding light.

I sighed, ignoring the fact that she had just called me by that tedious name. "But then why can I feel your sadness and worry through the bond? Is something wrong... apart from the usual?" I asked her.

"It's just this thing my father said. About me being human. I guess I've never really put much thought into it, but I'm going to become like you. Me... a vampire." she said, her voice trailing off into uncertainty.

I'd never really thought that much about it either. From the moment we'd bonded, I sought to live my life day by day. I tried not to think of the future and what it might bring. Looking back at Lucy, she didn't sound sad about the prospect, but she didn't sound excited either.

"I just never imagined myself as a vampire, that's all." she continued. I mused over it for a while before answering.

"This isn't a decision which you need to take now. I'll respect your opinion no matter what. If you don't want to become like me, then don't. It's that easy." I told her.

She looked at me sceptically. "And then what, let you age slowly while I wither away? It's obvious what I have to do here." she said, sounding just a tad bit resentful.

"There is nothing that you _have_ to do. No one's forcing you. We haven't got enough to worry about now either way." I said, trying to subtly end this conversation. It wasn't the time or place to start discussing such a topic. She smiled weakly at me.

I squeezed her hand a bit tighter. "Hey, we'll get through this, okay, I know it's hard, but we will, just a few more days till Solange turns and then we'll be able to focus more on us." I said, trying to reassure her, but I wasn't certain if she was the only reason I'd said that. Sometimes I just needed to hear it, to remind myself that things will get better.

She looked away out of the window, pensively. I knew that this was just the beginning of longest four days of our lives.

XXX

**Can someone please spell supermegafastupload for me? I've been writing for this story like a machine and at this pace, it'll be done by the week... but I guess even good things have to end.**

**Hope you liked this, and didn't hate me too much for Nick's behaviour. I felt that sugar-coating the story with too much romance made both Lucy and Nick fall out of character. This way, their relationship is more genuine and real. The way they make up though is so sweet :3 I'll miss these guys. **

**Until the next time, lovelies :3 **


	32. PB&J Sandwich

Chapter 32: PB&J sandwiches

+ Nick +

"Good, but it needs work, Lucy. Your aim was off and your hand wobbled too much. You're using strength but if that strength is not paired with a good grip and aim, you could inflict severe damage on your wrist. It could be the thing that kills you in a fight." Logan reprimanded Lucy as she leaned over the practice dummy that she had knocked over. The stake was still stuck firmly inside the dummy, and while she struggled to remove it, the string of profanities coming out of her mouth was making even Logan wince.

I smiled softly, knowing fully well that Lucy will be Lucy. I continued pulverising the punching bag mindlessly keeping a close eye on her from time to time.

She noticed me staring this one time as she tried to focus on the hit. "What are you looking at, you pompous asshole? And would it kill you to wear a shirt?" I learned to believe that Lucy shows her love through insults, so that made me grin more than a little.

"Why, is my naked torso distracting?"

I heard Logan groan loudly before dramatically falling to his knees. He looked upwards as he yelled, "Here we go again with the flirting, for the fucking seventh time. Yes, I've been counting. I already warned you once Nick, she has the attention span of a goldfish and your presence is making it even worse. So, wear a fucking shirt or get the fuck out of the gym."

Now I could officially say that I had managed to really rustle up my brother. But it was amusing and I wondered for how longer I could stretch this before he kicked me out himself.

"But it's hot in here! It's not fair that I have to wear a shirt because of her unbridled lust for me." I retorted.

"Oh fuck you!" That one was from Lucy. On her defence she could have called me worst things.

"Look at this," Logan said as he pointed towards his aggravated face. I looked at him questioningly. "Does this look like the face of someone who cares about your petty complains? Put the shirt on or get out, I'm warning you." His nose flared comically to the point that I was afraid he'd literally start fuming. I burst out laughing at him. My only regret was not having a video camera to record this, because it was solid gold.

"That is it, I've had it with you two. I _need _to get out of here, before I have an aneurism. And I don't even know if vampires can have those!" he mumbled more to himself than to us. He stormed out of the gym, giving us a look of pure annoyance on the way out.

"Now look what you've done, Nicky." Lucy said flatly. "How the hell am I going to get better if I don't practice, huh?"

"Don't worry, Lucky. You will practice." I said, as an idea came to my mind.

"Oh yeah? With whom?" She gave ma sceptic look as she wiped the sweat on her brow with the back of her hand.

"With _moi_, of course." I told her. Her eyebrows met her hairline at that.

"You? Don't we know how this ends?" she told me, with a hint of humour in her voice.

"Hey, you're the one who can't keep her hands to herself here." I retorted, earning a hard punch on the shoulder. She might look like a fragile little thing, but she packed a mean punch that even some guys would be envious of.

She snorted before muttering, "Idiot." She went to get her bottle for a drink. I could see clearly that she was giving it her all. Her hair stuck to her forehead and her skin gleamed with sweat. And she didn't exactly smell like a bed of roses but I wouldn't dare tell her that. However, she had never seemed more beautiful and fierce. The look of determination was etched into her expression nowadays. She wasn't kidding when she said she wanted to conquer her demons.

I walked over to where my shirt was on the ground and put it on. I hated how it stuck to my skin, but it was something I could live with.

"Come on, whenever you're ready, princess," I told her as I walked towards the centre of the gym where the practice dummies were. She put her water bottle down and looked up at me, a grin finding its way to her lips. She walked towards me, stopping only when we were five steps away from each other with the dummy between us.

I threw the stake at her so that the pointed edge faced away from her. She grabbed it in mid-air, grasping the handle tightly. In a motion which I deemed quite extraordinarily agile for a human, she raised the stake gracefully, secured it in both hands and with a small battle cry that she had probably ripped off some kung fu movie, she plunged the stake right through where the heart would have been. She had executed the kill perfectly, almost too perfectly.

"Were you holding back on Logan or something? That was a perfect shot." I told her. She grinned at me.

"It was, wasn't it?" She said smugly, admiring her handiwork.

I smiled a little evilly, as I decided I wanted to mess with her a little. "It's amazing to which lengths your own subconscious would push you to impress me. Your inner need to make me proud of you is almost cute."

It took a moment for her to get what I was implying, but when she did, her grin fell and was replaced by a mischievous glare.

"Oh I'll impress you, alright. Say that again I'll knee you so hard in the crotch that not even the blood bond would give you back the ability to have children." she told me. At her words, I felt heat rise to my cheeks. Not because she had threatened to knee me in the balls, no, she did that on a daily basis, sometimes even more than once a day. It was the baby making part that had rustled me up a little, not that I would allow it to show.

I had learnt by now that I was more in control of the bond than she was. Her emotions were ever-present at the back of my mind. All I needed to do to access them was think about her. I tried not to let it affect me too much, as I knew that she would have a fit if she knew. However I was almost certain that my emotions weren't as easy for her to decipher as hers were for me. I didn't know if it was a vampire thing or perhaps if it was just me being my usual introvert self, but I thanked my luck for once. It would have been definitely embarrassing to have her realise that her talking so casually about babies and me in the same sentence made me uncomfortable.

"Nicky... aren't you going to say anything after that?" she asked me, a touch of humour colouring her voice.

I made an effort for her sake and let a carefree smile slip on my lips. "You wouldn't dare. You love me too much for that." I told her as I pulled her in an embrace. We were both in desperate need of a shower, but both of us couldn't care any less for that moment.

"Okay, you've practiced for over two hours now. Take a break with me." I told her once she stepped away. She shook her head vehemently.

"Nope, for all I know, that was just a lucky shot. If all hell breaks loose in three days, I need to be ready. So that means no breaks. In fact, I'd better go find Logan and apologise to him."

I pouted at her, trying to sway her in her decision. As if on cue, her stomach rumbled loudly.

I smirked, knowing that I had just found the thing that would make her take a break after all. She groaned. "Traitorous stomach. If I didn't love food so much I would starve myself just to teach you a lesson. But alas, food is more important than any petty revenge, so I guess you're right, I'm taking a break." She said as she handed me the stake. I put it back on the wall were it belonged with the others.

She wiped her forehead with a small towel and slung it over her shoulder. "I'm going to have a shower though first, so see you in about fifteen minutes." she said as she walked off.

"And you should take one too, you reek dude." she told me, fanning the air in front of her nose with her hand.

"Look who's talking? Make sure to not lift up your arms any time soon. You might kill someone." I sneered at me before leaving.

As an idea came to my mind, I smirked, knowing that if I managed to carry it out, she would be very surprised.

As I spread the peanut butter on the last slice of bread, Lucy walked in the kitchen, a towel in hand as she dried her hair. She noticed what I was doing and a confused look crossed her face.

"Um, Nicky, what are you doing?" Lucy asked with a befuddled tone. She knew that I didn't eat food, so watching me making peanut butter and jelly sandwiches must have surprised her, which was what I was aiming for.

"Making you something to eat. It was either this or cereal and since you can't eat cereal and walk at the same time, I opted with these." I told her as I handed her a sandwich. She took it in her hands gingerly, eying it cautiously before opening it and checking the contents.

I resisted the urge to roll my eyes at her. "I didn't poison it you idiot." I told her as I waited for her to take a bite.

She snorted. "Obviously, if you poisoned it you would die with me and that's no good. But putting a bug in it or hot sauce, now that is something you would do." She told me before giving one last wary glance to the sandwich. She gave a little shrug before taking a tentative bite. I looked at her, expecting some sort of reaction as she chewed lazily.

When she didn't say anything, I said, "So?"

"So what?"

I sighed, getting a bit impatient. "How is it?"

"It tastes like a PB&J sandwich." she said flatly. I sighed and finished the one I was making before wrapping the two uneaten sandwich in a napkin.

She wrapped her arms around me and leaned on my back. The feel of her soft skin, freshly washed and fragrant against mine was like being caressed by pure silk.

"I was kidding you know. I'm very touched that you'd do this for me." I searched for her hand and took it in my own.

"Come with me." I whispered softly to her.

"Where?"

"Anywhere. This house is making me feel claustrophobic. You can feel the tension radiate off people." She dropped her hand from mine.

She contemplated for a moment, biting her lip in the most adorable way possible. She threw a glance at the clock and looked up at me, a smile crossing her lips as her eyes met mine.

She put a finger on my lips. "One hour. Not a minute more, not a minute less." She told me. She put her hand to her side and took my hand instead. I grabbed her wrapped sandwiches off the counter.

We didn't go very far, just a ten-minute walk from the house. The sandwiches were long gone. The full moon shone down at us and illuminated everything in its beautiful silvery glow. We ended up just lying down facing the endless black sky. The stars were beautiful to look at as only my family lived around here so there wasn't a lot of noise pollution. We had fallen silent, but there wasn't anything to say. Useless banter would have ruined the moment. Instead I let her cuddle next to me. She rested her head against my arm and I slowly ran up my fingers against hers in the softest of caresses.

I looked at her face. The moon was giving her an unearthly glow. Her soft red lips looked like velvet and I wanted nothing more than to cover them with my own.

I let my hand run further up her arm, over her collarbone until I was caressing her cheek.

I wanted to look directly in her eyes. My face was directly in front of hers as I propped my elbows up.

_She's so fucking beautiful. _Everything happened silently between us. There was no need of verbal communication. I knew that she wanted to kiss me as much as I wanted to kiss her. Our bodies moved together in a simple symphony. I put my knees to her sides and gently helped her lift herself so that her lips met mine in an exploding ecstasy of pleasure. Her body yielded easily to mine, arching forward to remove the space between us. I ran my hands down her soft body, down her slender arms, over her fit stomach and her thighs. She moaned as our bodies moulded more into one. Our hands probed gently and explored each other's bodies freely. I hadn't felt this free in a very long time. I didn't know how badly I needed it until Lucy's lips were secured on mine.

A small nagging voice at the back of my mind warned me that I should take it easy or stop, as my need for Lucy was toxic. I felt ready to make love to her right here and then, and she was giving me the same indications, but it would be extremely bad timing.

However, I had no will to stop.

And I guess I should consider what happened as a very lucky break, but it honestly wasn't. Not in my book, at least.

"Nick! Lucy! Get the hell up, we need to go, now!" Logan's voice said. I felt a pair of arms trying to break us apart, and I instinctively pushed Lucy away and growled at the intruder.

Logan was quick though and responded with a jaw breaking slap. "What the fuck?" I asked him as I regained some of my self-control.

"It's Solange. The change is starting early. And her body's rejecting it." Those three short sentences where enough to send the small lick of stability I had in my life crumbling.

**Yes I finally updated! I apologise for the wait, however I'm not making any boring excuses. I can assure you that there are going to be about 5-8 chapters more, depending on what comes to mind. Hopefully I shall resume my weekly upload rate : D **

**Thank you for the beautiful words in the reviews, they are all very touching. And for all you romantics out there, yes, you will get you big, romantic, sweet, fluffy chapter as an epilogue though! Brace yourself cause it's going to be so sweet you'll get diabetes *crickets in the background***

**Stay lovely! **


	33. A Slice of Hell

**Chapter 33: A slice of Hell**

**+ Nick +**

Lucy was the first one to bolt upon hearing the news. Even though I loved my sister, I couldn't have possibly reacted as fast as she had, especially considering that not even sixty seconds ago, I had been turned on to the point of digging my nails in the palms of my hands to stop myself from ridding Lucy of her clothes. That kind of arousal is not the kind of thing that just vanishes, so I was slower to react.

I bolted up to my feet a moment later, getting over myself as Logan's words registered in my mind with all they implied.

_The change is starting early. And her body's rejecting it. _I couldn't understand. How was this possible? Solange's turning into a vampire was not supposed to have complications. A great prophecy foretold that the first Drake woman born would lead the night world one day. She couldn't exactly lead the night world if she was dead for good.

The scary thing about prophecies was that some way or another, they always came true. A part of me wanted to feel reassured that Solange wouldn't die, because she just couldn't, not while she was directly in the middle of such a great prophesy. The other part of me, a more sceptic and careful part wasn't too sure about that.

Our frantic run took no longer than five minutes. Lucy, who's stamina had improved in the last few days, was panting anyways. I knew for a fact that she was sore all over from practicing so much, so the effort to run all this way must have killed her. However, apart from a few deep breaths and a hand on her chest, she didn't complain one bit.

We entered our home wordlessly. Lucy, who had been so quick, had fallen behind, her steps growing heavier by the moment. I allowed myself to sneak peak into her mind, allowing her emotions to become one with mine.

I felt her raw intense pain as if it was my own and her sadness that I knew would sooner or later stain her beautiful face with tears. But the emotion that dominated everything else was fear. The fear of losing her best friend.

It had started. Three significant days of our lives, and they hadn't started on a positive note at all. I stopped walking until she caught up to me and wrapped my hand around her clenched fist. At my touch she looked up, and I could see that her eyes were already red. Her breath still came out ragged and uneven.

"I'm sure she'll be fine." I tried to reassure her as we walked slowly to the room she shared with Solange. Halfway up the steps, she slowed down again.

"What if she's not? I can't bear to lose her, Nick. I won't. She's like a sister to me." she buried her face in my shirt. I took a deep breath and rested my head on hers.

"I know. I'm her brother and you know that it kills me to see her like this, but the transition is something all of us have to go through. I can't lie and say that it's going to be easy, because it almost never is." She held her breath and nodded and proceeded towards the room. We found my mum at the door, a hand over her mouth and her eyes shut tightly, as if that helped her block our Solange's screams of anguish. Logan had a hand on her shoulder and was trying to reassure her. His eyes met mine and from the dire look in them, I knew that things were way worse that I thought.

"Can we see her?" Lucy asked softly, her voice just above a whisper.

Mum shook her head as she tried to regain some of her composure. "It's best if you don't, Lucy. You'll just torment yourself. There's nothing we can do but wait. Liam's in there with her and he'll help her as best he can, just like he helped the boys."

The shred of hope in Lucy's eyes faded. Her shoulder sagged and she looked down at the floor, as if she was afraid to meet anyone's eyes. Standing in front of Solange's room wouldn't help her one bit, so I decided it was best if we moved, at least it would spare the both of us from hearing every laboured breath and every scream that Solange was producing. I took her hand and went downstairs. She didn't even oppose me.

Once in the empty kitchen, we sat down at the table. Lucy stared off into nothing. It was beginning to worry me. She had never been so quiet for such a long time.

I was going to go mad if I kept thinking. I needed my mind to draw a blank and give me a break. As an attempt to distract myself, I opened the fridge. I popped out a bottle of blood for me and searched for a something that Lucy could drink. At the top shelf, there was a disregarded box of orange juice, and I figured it would have to do. I handed her the box and she took it wordlessly from me, popped the little straw in the hole and sucked on it. The air of gloom and silence around her was maddening.

I microwaved the blood and waited for it to heat up completely before joining her at the table.

We drank in silence, each lost to out own thoughts. She was the one who broke the silence first.

"What does it feel like?" she wondered. I looked at her questioningly.

"What does what feel like?"

From the look she gave me, she must have thought out loud as she looked startled.

"Turning? Is it really always that bad?"

I involuntary shuddered as suppressed memories from when I turned came back to me.

"As far as I know, it's always painful. The transformation your body has to go through is not a light one. It's a a test really, to see if you're fit to become immortal." I told her.

She bit her lip, "So, um... how was it for you, if you don't mind me asking?"

This was a question I dreaded, but I was one I knew I would have to answer sooner or later.

"Well it was... hell. Not everyone's change is the same though. Mine was particularly painful. After I turned, dad told me that I had barely made it. Kinda glad I did, to be honest." I placed a hand on hers and gave her a little smile, hoping to cheer her up a little. She tried to return it, but the sadness was still evident in her chocolate-brown eyes, which lacked their usual warmth and cheeriness.

"You know," I said softly as I inched closer to her and gave her hand a little squeeze, "As your body starts changing, the most difficult thing is to hold on to life despite all the pain. It's so easy to give in to it and let it devour you. You need to find something to cling on to, something that makes the pain just bearable. You were that something for me, Lucy."

She smiled and sighed a little tiredly. "You haven't slept at all, I'm sure you're very tired." I told her.

She stifled a yawn, "I am, but I don't think I'll be able to sleep at all. I just keep thinking about her. I feel so damn helpless."

"So do I, but only time can tell." I told her grimly. She gave me a dire look before a heart-wrenching scream filled the house from upstairs. Lucy winced, but very slightly. Her poker face won over. "Then we wait."

XXX

Nine long hours had passed. Lucy and I had been fighting sleep for the better half of them, but fatigue got the best of us. Less than an hour later, high-pitched screaming sent us bolting up from the couch, wide-awake with nerves flaring.

Since then, I hadn't been able to just stand still. I kept pacing anxiously around the room, lost deep in thought. I wanted terribly to sit down next to Lucy, who had curled herself up in a ball on the couch and hold her close to me, and reassure her, but I couldn't find it in me.

It was normal for the change to be painful, that's just the way it is, but usually on the first day one would be lost to their own subconscious, only muttering low groans of pain in an anguished sleep until they would wake up the next day. That's when the real pain began, as the heart would begin to slow down and with each pump, it would send the corrupted human blood through their veins all over their body. They'd feel as if they were on fire, combusting in invisible flames beneath their very own flesh.

Lucy however was not following the pattern, from what I've heard my father whisper to my mum, she was vomiting blood... a lot of it. This was never a good omen; not even on the third day when the pain reaches it's maximum capacity and a little blood was always expected. Only nine hours had passed since the change began, and Lucy was showing symptoms only someone in his or her last few hours of pain would show.

Someone was coming down the stairs, and I swiftly headed in their direction, hoping it was mum or one of my brothers so that I could ask if there were any developments.

Much to my surprise, it was dad who emerged. He was blood stained, his green shirt turned into a shade of crimson where the blood had touched it. "Nick. Lucy. Get dressed, need to get going."

My eyebrows furrowed at that. "What? Where are we going? Is Sol okay?" I had about a billion more questions, but my father looked out of it and I doubted he's have the time to answer them anyways.

"No, Nick. She's not. I've tried everything and she's only getting worse so I had to swallow my pride and phone Veronique. Her blood is the only thing strong enough that might save your sister." Veronique DuBois was the oldest living member of the drake family, turned sometime in the 12th century. She was a stern woman whose coldness could freeze up the world. However, her blood was priceless. The older vampire blood is, much like wine, the better it gets. However, I knew that obtaining it from her would be extremely difficult. She does not have a very strong sense of family.

"But wait, if I may ask, what do Nick and I have to do with getting Veronique's blood?" Lucy asked. It was a very valid question, one that I wanted an answer to myself.

Dad started washing his hands in the sink, facing away from us as he spoke. "Somehow, word got out that you and Nick are blood bonded. When I called, she had her servant inform me that she should have heard out this sooner and from us rather than from strangers. She said she wouldn't give us her blood until she meets the two of you." Dad's voice was strained and filled with so much animosity. Veronique was never his favourite person.

Dad sighed as he wiped his hands and pinched the bridge of his nose. Tension oozed from him like blood from a fresh wound.

"Come on, go get changed. Solange might not have much time left." Dad urged us. Lucy bolted off the couch and both off us made our way to my room where she had stored her clothes while Solange occupied their room during her change.

We didn't take longer than two minutes to get ready. Lucy had pulled her hair in a messy pony tail and looked quite casual.

"Do you think that this will be okay? I mean won't she be offended that we're wearing jeans?" Lucy asked me as she examined her clothes. I took her head and led her down the stairs.

"Solange's dying, Lucy. I don't give a flying fuck if our clothes offend that old crone." I said, loosing patience.

"Yeah, but if that old crone gets stubborn or offended and decides that she doesn't want to give us the blood after all, we're screwed." she pointed out. I swore underneath my breath, knowing that she had a point. But it really didn't matter, as there was no time to change in anything fancier.

We got in the car with my dad, the two of us sitting in the back. Veronique lived on the other side of the state and it would take us about four hours to get there. I searched for Lucy's hand and laced my fingers through hers, giving her a small reassuring smile. I braced myself for four hours of strained silence.

At least, the fact that Lucy was next to me eased my burden. I felt better with her comforting scent engulfing me. She smelled like warmth, like the sun in spring, and reminded me of when I was human, when everything was much simpler. Inhaling her scent was like drinking a hot beverage on a cold windy day, it smelled like home. She was like a warm winter day to me.

She was my lucky charm, she was my Lucky.

XXX

Two hours into the drive, sleep grew tired of being evaded. Her head rested softly against my chest. I watched her breath in softly, sleeping peacefully for the first time in days.

"You love her." My father uttered softly. He was watching us from the rear view mirror. His expression had softened since we started driving. We were in the middle of a road that seemed like it would lead to nowhere. Veronique liked her privacy, that much was known.

"I do." I told him without hesitation.

I could see his expression grow grim in the mirror. He pursed his lips, "Then keep her safe, Nick. We're swimming in dangerous waters here. This is no world for a human. She's a tough one, but still far too fragile."

"I will, Dad. That much you can count on."

My father gave me a curt nod. "Good. A lot is at stake here. Your sister's life... and Lucy's too."

Silence fell afterwards, as I had no answer to that. All I could do was hold her hand tighter.

I started getting a little sleepy myself, but my dad's voice wiped away every bit of drowsiness. "Nick. Tell me how many cars you can see behind us." his voice was once more strained.

I turned around and tried to peer outside. The glass was tinted a dark green, but I could make out the shape of four black range rovers.

"Four." I told him, feeling a lump forming in my throat. "Are those Veronique's hired guards?" I asked, hopeful.

"We're an hour away from the Drake Mansion, so no." he responded through gritted teeth. I wanted to ask him if they were enemies of ours, but I was afraid I knew what the answer would be.

When he pressed the gas pedal, I knew for certain that those cars were no good omens.

All I could do was hold Lucy tighter to me. I wrapped my arms around her, making her stir in her sleep as she huddled deeper into my shoulder. I didn't have the heart to wake her up. She had been through hell all week and she deserved to get a full hour of sleep.

My father took a sharp turn all of a sudden, knocking me with Lucy in my arms over roughly to the right. Lucy woke up with a jerk and a loud gasp, disoriented as she asked what was going on. The car had come to a halt. I looked ahead and noticed that two of those black cars now blocked our way and the four behind us had caught up to us, making escape impossible.

Fear bit at me like frostbite. My father swore loudly and slammed his hands on the steering wheel.

Lucy asked once more what was going on, while dad shot last second advice at us.

"Speak when you're bid to, let me talk. Never make eye contact. It's going to be alright." he tried to reassure us, but even his voice wavered.

The four doors of the car were opened at once, and rough hands pulled my father out of the car first. They tried to pull Lucy away from me, but she was frantically trying to get away from their hands. I felt another pair of hands tighten on my arms, pulling me away from her, so I gripped her by the chest. She had managed to kick away the hands with her feet, screaming all the while. The hands got annoyed with us, and pulled me. In my effort to get Lucy close to me, I lost my grip on the seat, and was pulled roughly onto the unforgiving asphalt, Lucy still entangled and screaming bloody murder and threatening and cursing at the top of her voice.

The thing to silence her was a rough slap that one of the gloved hands gave her across the cheek.

This sent me over the edge, and summoned the darker side of me. I growled and tried to attack but the hands blocked my every move. They made me kneel down and locked my hands behind my back. Lucy was kneeling next to me; her eyes were wide and alert. Her cheek bore a red mark, a souvenir of the slap and her lip was bleeding. She was sucking on it, trying to hide it. Whether it was to tame my wrath or because she had realised that our captors were vampires, I did not know.

"Nicholas Drake and consort Lucy Hamilton, you have been summoned by the Lady Natasha, Queen of the Night World and Ruler of all Vampires to answer for your treason and for breaking one of the Ancient Laws.

**XXX**

**Thoughts**?


	34. An Unlikely Saviour

**Chapter 34: An Unlikely Saviour. **

**+ LUCY +**

A maddening sense of claustrophobia seized me as hands roamed on my limbs, trying to get me to stop struggling. Upon hearing the accusation, my first instinct had been to attempt to grab Nick's arm and bolt away from our captors, but all I had managed to do was reach out towards Nick's sleeve before my arm was roughly pulled behind my back CSI-style.

"Blind her and get her in the car already." A deep voice barked out, the same one which presented us with the accusation of committing treason.

Nick growled upon hearing these words, and I could see that his captors were having trouble controlling him too. "Don't you dare hurt her, or I swear I will kill every single one of you bastards!"

Our captors had carefully held us so that we never gazed directly in their faces, however upon hearing Nick's threats, one of them moved from behind us and came to stand directly in front of us. I had to supress a gasp as my eyes landed upon his face. He was pale and his skin looked flawlessly smooth, typical for a vampire. However, it was his platinum blond hair that came down to a good two inches down his shoulders and three large white lines that covered the right side of his face from his eyebrow to his chin that made him so distinguishable. Even Nick went still.

After a laboured pause as the vampire let us drink in his features and examined us in turn, he leaned down until his face was just a foot away from Nick's. He slowly reached his hand out and clasped Nick's between his large fingers. Compared to him, Nick looked like a little kid. It was a scary sight to behold because Nick was quite tall.

"I would honestly just _love _to see you try that, little boy. The Queen said she needed you alive, she never said anything about you needing all your limbs intact."

I tried hard to restrain the shudder that ran through me. His voice was barely a few decibels above a whisper as he threatened Nick. I would have rather had him shouting at us as it would have seemed much more mild.

Nick, however, seemed unfazed and bared his fanged teeth at him. "Nick..." I warned him. "Please, it's not worth it." He looked at me, desperation in his eyes.

"Good little boy. Listen to her, she's smarter than she looks," our captor returned, his words, laced with poison.

"Sadon," Liam uttered, trying to retain some control over the situation. "I understand that you have orders to carry out, but I beg you. A couple of hours are all we require, and then we'll personally come in front of the queen to answer for the accusation of treason. But for the sake of our old friendship, I ask you to let us go for now. You know that I'm a man of my word. We won't run."

"Piss on your word, Drake. It's worth less to me than the dirt stuck to my shoe. The queen wants them now and that's when she'll have them." the blond vampire returned. I bit my lip in desperation, tasting blood. I had to do something and quick.

"Us. She needs us, not him. We'll come with you but you have to let Liam go," I said.

Our mountainous captor laughed rowdily, as if I'd said the biggest joke of the century. "The human thinks she can speak to me. One more word and you'll lose your tongue, girl. You are nothing but a walking blood bank. If it were to me I'd kill the lot of you off, stupid human lovers."

"No, she has a point. We'll come with you but my father has no business with the Queen. _We_'re being accused of treason, so take _us_." Nick spat at him.

"They do have a point, Sadon. The man is no use to us." Another one of our captors, whom I hadn't noticed, said reasonably. I glanced at the rest of the vampires, all clad in black. Five men and three women, armed to the teeth. They could kill me with deadly precision and I would only realise they'd done it when I was lying in a pool of my own blood.

Sadon considered for one moment before uttering a loud curse and slamming a fist on the hood of Liam's car, denting it. "Consider this as payment for what you did in 1954. Now go, and don't think that I won't kill you if I see you again." our captor drawled out before grabbing the kneeling Liam from the scruff of his jacket and pulled him up to his feet.

Liam gave us a dubious look that contained a thousand words. Uncertainty mingled with pain and desperation gleamed in his eyes. As he walked towards the car, Sadon ordered the rest of the guards to put us in different cars. Before I could even look at Nick for one last time, a black hood was pulled over my head, disorienting me completely. I was pushed forwards until a hand was placed on my head, lowering it down and my body met as obstacle which I assumed to be the open car. I was smoothly pushed inside the car and before I knew it they'd already shut the door. My hands frantically searched for the locks at once, put somebody grabbed both of them and put them behind my back. I felt something cold encircling my wrists and when I tried to push it away, I realised that my hands were tied. They'd handcuffed me.

"You're a stubborn one, aren't you?" a honeyed voice said. The owner of the voice was in close proximity to me, as I could hear him properly despite the fact that I was hooded. "I wouldn't keep up the attitude if I were you. Queen Natasha is not very fond of humans, I'm afraid."

Silence soon filled the car, and I was glad for it. I wanted a few minutes to myself, to figure out some sort of escape plan for Nick and myself. However, the more I thought, the more desperate I because I realised that there was no way for us to escape. Our captors were highly trained vampires who surely wouldn't let us slip out of their reach so easily. I groaned fruitlessly.

"Someone sounds frustrated. Your heart rate has just spiked up," the chatty vampire next to me said.

"Damn, you smell good." he said, his voice going much lower and velvety. I wanted to slap him badly. Suddenly I felt a hand caressing my clothed thigh, going upwards. "I wonder how you'd taste like..." he trailed on.

I smiled, as a plan formulated in my mind. "Do it. Taste me then." I said. I hoped it hadn't sounded too muffled but his response led me to believe that he'd heard me clearly enough.

"What? You want me to taste you?" he asked me quizzically.

"Yes," I tried to sound as sultry and inviting as I possibly could with a hood covering my face. "I know you want to."

"Laurent, shut up already and stop talking to her." a gruff interrupted us from the front of the car.

"But she's simply _fascinating. _The first blood bonded human consort in centuries and we have the pleasure of escorting her to the queen." Lauren almost whined.

"I don't get why it's such a pleasure to you. She's just a job, that's all. And don't think for one second that she wouldn't stick a stake through your heart if she had the chance. We'll see how fascinating you'd find her _then. _So shut up."

"But, come on, Ulric. Even someone as uncultured of you should appreciate the fact that we're in the presence of an entire species of her own. Not vampire, yet not completely human. It's simply marvellous." Lauren returned, peaking my interest. He seemed as if he knew something more than we did about the blood bond.

_Not vampire, yet not completely human. _My pressured mind could not let that go. _An entire species of her own. _I'd never felt more conflicted. My curiosity was burning unsaid questions at the back of my throat.

"You know what's going to be truly fascinating if you don't shut up? A wooden bullet between your eyes." the enraged vampire answered back.

And just like that, my plan was foiled. A couple mouthful of my blood was all it would have taken to disintegrate the vampire next to me, but it seemed like his comrade's warnings had affected him well enough because he didn't speak for the rest of the journey. And even if I had somehow managed to get him to drink from me, what would I do, handcuffed as I was? _Stupid. _I needed to start think my plans through.

It could have been hours or several minutes afterwards, but the car came to a smooth stop. Before I knew it, someone had grabbed me not too gently by my forearm and shoved me out of the car. My legs wobbled at the sudden action and I lost my balance. However, I did not fall to the ground, as someone was till holding me by my jacket, suspending me above the ground. My jacket hitched up, exposing my midriff and I shuddered at the sudden coolness of the crispy air meeting my skin.

My hood was pulled away roughly and I was dropped to the ground. I expected my eyes to hurt as they adjusted to the light, but they didn't, mainly because we were in pitch darkness.

"Get up." A gruff voice called out, the same one that had been at the front of the car. I bit my lip and did as I was bid, knowing that stirring up trouble now would be absolutely counterproductive.

My eyes tried to adjust to the darkness and search out for Nick, however all I could see were hazy silhouettes. I hated the feeling of being blind, of being so wholly dependent on my captor to walk. Finally, after many steps in the dark, a little white light appeared at the bottom of what seemed like a tunnel we were walking in. It was not enough to illuminate the place enough for me to see my surroundings completely, but at least I could make out the shape of my purple converse walking forwards. My eyes instantly stated scanning the place for Nick. Sure enough, he was on my right. We didn't even have time to make eye contact before my captor cranked my neck stiffly forwards.

A low growl emanated from Nick, and I could feel his anger flare through the bond. It was so strong that it almost felt as if it was my own. My muscles tensed and my hair stood up on ends, ready to rip out the heart of whoever tried to hurt us.

The more reasonable side of me, one that had chosen to stay silent for most of my life made an appearance then. _Keep your cool. Help him. _I knew that Nick's short temper was being pushed to its limit, but I had to calm him down before he could do anything foolish, and so I did what I could. I sent him calming emotions through the bond in an effort to soothe him. It worked, but tension still remained, thick and ineluctable.

Finally, the darkness was slowly melting away as light filtered through an open door. A warm yellowish light, nothing too bright because of vampires' sensitive eyesight, bathed the end of the tunnel. I held my breath as the room beyond came into view. Sitting on an ornamented black throne was one of the most regal people I'd ever seen.

_Queen Tatiana. _

There was no other word to describe her but unearthly. Beautiful would have been an insulting understatement. Her hair looked like woven gold, and tumbled down her left shoulder in an intricate braid. Her skin was flawless, the colour of the purest ivory, making the red dress she was wearing look almost sinful on her pristine body. I admit I was almost afraid to look at her in the eyes. Her very presence commanded respect, and I felt as if looking at her might be insolence on my part. When I did, I realised I wasn't very far off from the truth. Her icy blue eyes bore into mine, as if searching for any truths I was concealing deep within my very soul. They were absolutely mesmerising, but so cold and soulless that I had to look down.

"Nickolas Drake," she said finally, her gaze shifting on him. Her voice sounded overly velvet in my ears, a bit too sultry in my opinion, but I could not deny the fact that it held a certain allure that might have made most guys at my school pitch up a tent below just from hearing her speak. "And his human consort, Lucy Hamilton."

"My, my, you Drakes are a handful, aren't you? First your sister, and now this _filthy_ bond. I wonder whether I'd been too merciful when I banished you from court, perhaps I should have simply killed you all. Maybe you should be thought a lesson. I wonder how your father and mother would feel if I sent them both your heads in a velvet box." This had not started well, at all.

"Be thankful for my logical nature. I must admit that I am a bit curious. What did you do to make him fall in love with you so badly that he bonded with you?" the queen asked. I knew that she was talking to me, but I was abashed. How could I answer that question. What should I say; one wrong word could mean our heads.

"Look up to me when I speak, human." Someone pulled my pointy tail down, making me look up and eliciting a growl from Nick.

"He is so protective of you. It's almost comical," the queen said in a singsong voice. Her blood red lips arched in a small cruel smile. "Answer me."

"I... I didn't do anything, your grace." I quickly added at the last moment, hoping that being polite would buy us some time. "We were childhood friends and we developed feelings for each other, I guess."

"Such a lovely little tale, don't you think?" she asked. A series of responses followed from a number of vampires siting around her. Only then I'd realised that she wasn't alone. She commanded the attention of the entire room so strongly that it wasn't hard to forget about anyone else.

"Tell me, Nicholas. What do you see in this human? Clearly you are not an unpleasant looking young vampire. Why did you choose a _blood bag _when you probably could have had any young pretty vampire maiden?" the queen asked. I ground my teeth at that, however made sure to keep my face composed and tried to keep my emotions in check as much as I possibly could for Nick's sake.

"I love her, your grace." Nick said. At this, I didn't care that the queen had ordered me to look up. I turned to my side to look at Nick and found him looking at me. His eyes showed a whirlpool of emotions. Sadness, anger, fear, but they were also so warm that I instantly felt better. In all honesty, I did not give a flying fuck if the queen thought I was nothing more than a blood bag as long as Nick looked at me like that.

"Sweet young love." the queen said, her voice softening for a moment, "I'm afraid that at my court it makes no difference. Your bond is dangerous and unnatural. An offspring of such bonds is unstable and a threat to our world. You broke a very ancient law, which is only punishable by death." My heart sank. My entire body went numb. Everything around me felt as if it was happening so fast. All I could do was look at Nick, and watch the desperation in his eyes. Nick became agitated and the Arkansas holding him increased, realising that he was ready to rip their precious queen to shreds for what she'd said.

The queen however remained impassive and cleared her throat. Nick was gagged and restrained and silence fell in the room. "However... someone has decided to speak in your favour, therefore before I give my verdict a trial will be held. You should both consider yourselves very lucky."

"You are most gracious, your grace. If I may ask, who has decided to speak in our favour?" I said once I regained my voice. It still came out sounding hoarse, especially in comparison to the queen's voice. The queen turned her head slightly to the right, and two men emerged from a concealed door.

"My love," one of them said before taking his place next to the queen. He placed a silky kiss on her temple, making her face light up in a brilliant smile before looking at me. My eyebrows furrowed in confusion, not recognising the man. However, I did recognise the second and the sight of him almost made my heart stop.

_My father._

XXX

**I know. I haven't updated since September. I will not bore you, however I've started a new school, but the real reason why I haven't updated because I'm a lazy idiot. Please feel free to hate me, I know I do. Anyways, I hope you enjoyed that! Thank you for bearing with my lazy self and this story, I hope this makes up for the wait! I'll try my best to update as soon as I possibly can though exams are coming up. **


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